


Guardians of Remnant Volume 02: Seeds of Doubt

by HH_BlueDynamite



Series: Guardians of Remnant [4]
Category: Bleach, RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-11-24 03:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20901218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HH_BlueDynamite/pseuds/HH_BlueDynamite
Summary: The second semester has begun, and the Vytal Tournament is not far behind. Ruby, Ichigo and their friends can hardly wait. As for their enemies, they have all the time in the world. The seeds have been planted, now all they can do is wait for it grow. It’s time to say goodbye to the innocence of youth.





	1. IURR Mission Short

**Scatter*BRAIN Presents**

* * *

**A Team IURR Short**

* * *

**The Bount Case**

* * *

**Also Known As**

* * *

_ **The Sakuya Massacre** _

* * *

_[One Year Ago.]_

* * *

Machine guns flared.

* * *

_[Team IURR's Second Year.]_

* * *

People are being cut down.

* * *

_This wasn't supposed to happen..._

* * *

Ichigo runs through the village in the night.

* * *

_How could this have happened?_

* * *

He gritted his teeth.

* * *

_This _ _ **shouldn't** _ _ have happened..._

* * *

The battle rages some ways away as Ichigo runs through the blood-soaked pavement, leaping over dead carcasses of the village resistance group and the Bount Group. He stops at the village square, where more carnage laid. His face twisted in horror and disgust at the sight. He faintly hears muffled crying in one of the crumbling buildings. Ichigo looks inside one as she searches for the origin. There he sees a young boy huddled in the corner. Ichigo knelt to the boy's level as he walked slowly to him. "Excuse me?" The boy stiffened at the sound of his voice. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe now." Ichigo said in a soft, kind tone. A tone he typically reserved for children. "Don't worry. I'm a student from Beacon Academy. I'm here to help—"

*BANG* Ichigo flinched at the warning shot. The boy was holding a rifle in his shaky hands. Ichigo then noticed a sickening smell. The smell of blood. He looks down to see that the boy is missing a leg, a trail of blood coated the child's way into the building.

"Stay away from me!" the child shouted.

Shaking out of the shock of seeing a young boy carrying such a dangerous weapon, Ichigo spoke to him again as he walked a little more slowly, as to not scare the boy. "It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. I'll take you to—" the boy shot another warning shot.

"Don't lie to me!" the child shouted. "That Huntress lady said the same thing. She said she could help, but she betrayed us! Turns out that she was an executive member! She—" the boy's eyes turned glassy before he collapsed, dropping the rifle in the process. Ichigo hurried over to the child's side.

He wasn't breathing.

He was turning ghost white.

His heart stopped beating.

He's…dead.

Ichigo's grip tightened on the young body. How could this have happened? They had everything under control. And on top of all that, Uryū is missing. Ichigo hopes that Renji finds him before anything bad happen to him. Ichigo gently laid the dead child down and placed his hand over the child opened eyes, closing them. Disheartened, Ichigo walked out of the building.

On instinct, Ichigo grabs his Zangetsu to block an attack from behind. The attacker was a dark-skinned woman with long, dark green hair, and matching eyes. Her weapon is a pair of big, sharp-edged red hand fans. Ichigo knew who she was. She was the Huntress that went 'missing', Lu Songshi. The woman smirked before leaping off Zangestu, backflipping, and landing gracefully. "Aren't I lucky. I get to fight _you_." Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"I don't time for this!"

"Well, too bad!" Lu strikes at him, Ichigo blocks it with Zangestu. "'Cause you're gonna have to get through me!" Ichigo struggled to keep himself grounded. He pushes the woman away. The woman laughed. "Is that all you—?"

"I said I don't have time for this!" Ichigo shouted, swinging his sword and sending a powerful shockwave at the Huntress. It hit and sends the woman into a building, knocking her out. While a victory, it was hollow, due to the damage that had already been done. "Damn it… Goddamnit all…"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Rukia, by way of her Freeze Semblance, trapped some Bount subordinates with ice. She sheathes back her Ice Dust Crystal Sword. "Now, you boys stay here and think about what you have done while the authorities come to pick you up." She said to them and sprints into a run. That was the fifth team of goons she has come across all night. Just how many more are there?

Suddenly, Kon appeared over her shoulder. "As expected of Big Sis! Say, since I was able to scout these guys out, can I have the privilege to caress you—" He was silenced by Rukia offhand-backhanding.

Rukia felt a presence from a building nearby. Her hand was hovering over Sode no Shirayuki's hilt when she realized that she recognized the Aura Pressure. Not a moment later, Renji Abarai breaks through a window and to the outside. He lands on the bricked ground in front of Rukia.

"Renji?" Rukia identified. The crimson-haired man stood tall, in his tanned arms is the unconscious form of Uryū Ishida. Rukia immediately ran over to her teammates as Renji placed Uryū on the ground, propped up against a wall. He took off the jacket he was wearing and put it over his friend. "How is he?" Rukia asked as she knelt next to Uryū. She notices that he doesn't have his glasses on.

"Dunno. I found him this way and he's been like it ever since." Renji said. "I've already called for assistance from the Atlesian squad, but it may be a while due to the Grimm. This is _way_ beyond our control…"

"Where did you find him?" Rukia asked.

"In some bunker not too far from here."

"What happened to your face?"

"Huh?" Renji questioned before noticing the small bruise on his cheek. "…O-oh, it's nothing. Just some mook tried to cold-cock me."

Rukia places a hand on Uryū's face, cupping his cheek. His skin is pallid, more so than usual, and cold and clammy, and his breathing is slightly erratic. What did those…_monsters_ did to him? "Renji, you go meet up with Ichigo. I'll stay here with Uryū and wait for reinforcement. Somebody needs to watch over him."

"Right, you be careful." Renji said.

"You too." Rukia said. After Renji left, Rukia does a once over on Uryū. She checked his pulse, noting the rapid heart rate, and then she lifts his eyelid. His pupil is dilated, but due to it being dark out, Rukia takes out her Scroll and turns on the flashlight to shine it in the eye. The pupil didn't constrict. Is Uryū drugged?

Kon appeared over her shoulder again. "Big Sis, your brother is here."

Rukia turns to see her brother, an elite member of the Atlesian military, Colonel Byakuya Kuchiki. He wears a custom made Atlesian uniform: a white samurai jinbaori surcoat with a periwinkle underside and dark periwinkle lapels and a high collar with light gold edges and small, light gold tassels attached to the corners. He also wears a long, light periwinkle kimono with white stripes running down the center and sleeves, which is tied at his waist with a long piece of white fabric that hangs down in two long loops in the front. He wears white, elbow-length gauntlets over his fingerless white tekkō and white greaves over black boots. He wears the Kuchiki family kenseikan in his shoulder-length black hair, white silk scarf, and the Kuchiki Bracers. Attached to the fabric around his waist is his sword, Sendonzakura, a kyu-ginto with a lavender hilt and white scabbard.

"Brother." Rukia acknowledged. Byakuya nods in greeting.

"I see the search for Uryū Ishida was a success." The man said stoically.

"Yes, thanks to Renji."

Byakuya comes over and carefully lifts the young Quincy in his arms, allowing his head to rest on Byakuya's shoulder. "How is he?"

"His skin is clammy and cold to the touch, his breathing is uneven, his heart rate is fast, and his pupils remained dilated even after shining a light. I think he might be drugged." Rukia told him. "As for anything else, we are unsure."

"I'll take him the camp then. He'll receive medical treatment there. What will you do, Rukia?"

"Huh?"

"There is no shame in accompanying me and Ishida back to the camp, as you are worried for him. There is also no shame in rendezvousing with Kurosaki and Renji, as you have a mission. Which do you choose?" Byakuya asked.

Rukia thought for a moment. She does want to keep an eye on Uryū and stay with him so that way he'd wake up to a familiar face. However, Byakuya is a familiar enough face and Ichigo and Renji may need some backup.

"I'll meet up with Ichigo and Renji." She said. "Please take care of Uryū."

"…Of course."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ichigo finds himself at the village square, where more casualties are laid in bloody heaps. He tightened his fists in bottled frustration that threatens to spill over. When will this end?

"Ichigo." He turns to see Renji.

"Renji, did you find Ishida?"

"Yeah, he's with Rukia right now, waiting extraction."

Ichigo let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "…That's good."

They heard someone click their tongue. "I knew I should have installed actual surveillance instead of using Ugaki's creations." A man with a light accent said. The look to see two men walking to the square. One man was well dressed and had neatly combed brown hair. Coiled around his shoulders are a pair of live, venomous snakes. With him is an imposing man with piercing red eyes and starch white hair. He is Jin Kariya, the leader of the Bount Group.

"Don't fret, Utagawa." Kariya smirked. "Once we get rid of the pests, you can retrieve our little…white mouse."

Utagawa smirk menacingly, his snakes hissing. It made Ichigo's blood boil. "What did you do to him?"

"…Wouldn't you like to know?" Kariya gibed.

Anger took over as Ichigo activated his Semblance and charges at Kariya, his Zangetsu ready. "KARIYAAAAA!"

Slithering out of various hiding spots, such as bushes, debris, and even corpses, were snakes that leaped out and grouped together to create a shield for Kariya, protecting him from Ichigo's attack. Ichigo gasped in shock before leaping back to avoid getting bitten. More snakes emerged from the shadows, surrounding the pair.

"Well, this is great." Renji said sardonically.

"Out of the frying pan and into a snake pit." Ichigo remarked.

Utagawa smirked arrogantly. No one can win against his snakes. He chuckled in triumph and a white puff of air went passed his lips. "…?" He then noticed the cold atmosphere and his snakes were becoming sluggish. Kariya noticed it too and was perplexed, as was Renji and Ichigo.

"Huh?" Renji said.

They heard the sound of heels clicking on the pavement. "Looks like you boys could use some help." Rukia said. "Ichigo!" Ichigo flinched. He knew where this is going. "You let your emotions get the best of you and activated your Semblance. You know you are on a time limit." Rukia's scowl changed to a soft smile. "Let me take care of this. You two fight the real threat."

Ichigo nodded. "Right." He turns to face Kariya. Digging his feet into the ground, he makes a grand leap at the man. Renji does the same at Utagawa.

_This ends now!_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Uryū's head was hazy and he felt unusually weak. The only other times he had felt like this is when he is recovering from Grimm contamination. It took a while for him to become more aware of his surroundings. He is on something soft and white. Getting feeling back into his fingers, the digits curled around a thin fabric. A blanket? Is he in a bed? When did he fall asleep?

The last thing he remembered was…

Dark blue irises shrink in shock as tidbits of images in his mind and emotions return in full force. Bright lights, needles, injections, a man's smirk, hissing snakes, more syringes, and pain… so much pain. Uryū started to twist and turn in the cot, the blanket contorts around his legs. Very much like the straps used to keep him in place. Uryū thrashes around, panicked eyes looking everywhere.

Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?

WhereisheWhereisheWhereisheWhereishe!?

"Uryū Ishida!" The Quincy gasped in a gulp of air, his chest hurting.

"…Colonel Kuchiki?" Uryū muttered.

"Yes, it's me." Byakuya confirmed, standing beside the bed. He places a gentle hand on Uryū's chilled yet sweaty forehead. "You are safe. You can calm down now. Just focus on my Aura Pressure." Uryū almost couldn't understand what the man was saying, his head felt like it was cotton. He soon did what he was told, focusing his attention on Byakuya's Aura Pressure. Right now, it was a calm flow, a soothing energy that quieted his own. Feeling himself becoming relaxed, Uryū attempts to get up. As he careful pulled himself to sit up, Byakuya slips in behind his back to help. "How are you feeling?"

"…I had better days…" Uryū said. Byakuya hands him his spare pair of glasses. "How long was I out?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" The question made Uryū freeze for a moment, the unwanted images threatened to return. Byakuya decides to change his question. "Do you remember what happened before you were abducted?"

Uryū shook his head and took a moment to think. "…I found where Lu Songshi was being kept, but before I could free her, someone put an odd smelling cloth over my mouth and nose…"

"Is that all?" Byakuya questioned.

"Yes." Uryū answered. He puts a hand to his forehead. "I…don't recall anything else."

"If that's how far you remember, then you have been unconscious for the last 36 hours."

36 hours? A day and a half? He's been gone for that long?

"…What happened to me?" Uryū asked.

"You've been in custody of Kariya and his group the whole time."

Uryū's widened quickly. "Kariya? What…what did he do to me?" He has a fleeting memory of the man reaching for him. The Quincy started to inspect his whole body frantically, to find anything new and/or missing. He even checked his pointed ears. What did the man do to him?

Byakuya gently removed Uryū's hands and placed them back into the young man's lap. "Dr. Unohana hasn't found anything in your system. Though there was a drug that seemed to have kept you unresponsive until now."

At that, Uryū seemed to have calm down a little. "…I see." He leans back on the bar behind the cot. "That's good, I guess."

Byakuya noticed that the teenager still looked exhausted. "Do you need more rest?" Uryū shook his head.

"I need to go find my teammates." Uryū moves to get up from the cot. Just as he did, Rukia appeared in the tent.

"Brother, has Uryū—" Rukia was about to ask before seeing her teammate, awake. The petite woman almost ran towards the slender male and threw her arms around him.

"M-Ms. Kuchiki?" Uryū wondered, surprised at the action. He felt something wet seeping into his shirt. "…Ms. Kuchiki?"

Byakuya noticed his sister's shaking form. "Rukia, what's wrong?" He asked, his tone less stoic and more of concern.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Morning had arrived, but the sky was darkened by gathering rain clouds, a light rain coming down. Ichigo and Renji make their way to the Mistralian Police Force with Kariya, who is cuffed with cuffs with special Aura reduction capabilities. The red-eyed man didn't walk like a defeated man. Instead, his gait remained confident.

The two Huntsmen-in-training hand Kariya over to the officials, where the rest of the Bount Group is taken as well, one of them being the traitorous Huntress, Lu Songshi. Unfortunately, Utagawa and Ugaki escaped capture. But, at least they got the leader.

… At least, huh?

Ichigo looks back at the once beautiful Sakura Village. Just a few days ago, the cherry blossom trees surrounding the village were in full bloom and a flurry of pink petals scattered around. Despite the terror of the Bount Group, the children had fun in the petals, gathering them into piles and jumping into them and rolling around like you would with maple leaves in the autumn. Ichigo remembered fondly of how the children somehow coaxed him and his team into playing along. The young ones made a crown of flowers for Rukia and a couple floral necklaces for Ichigo and Uryū. They even sprinkled some of the petals into Renji's crimson locks. It was a funny sight.

And, now…

Now, the village has become tainted with blood and corpses. Many of them being innocent blood of adults and children alike. Ichigo felt his heart hurting and his eyes begun to sting as tears threatened to form. He gripped at the fabric of his shirt over his aching chest. Renji's eyes softened at the sight of his distraught leader, feeling his own chest panged with guilt. He remembers back on his search for Uryū, how he had found him laying on a mattress with his hands tied behind his back and his legs tied together, unconscious. Next to the mattress was various syringes. Renji's fists tightened to point of drawing blood and he gritted his dog-like teeth. He was supposed to the shield. He was supposed to protect…

Out of frustration, he punches a nearby wooden pole. "…Damn it." Uryū and Rukia arrived at the scene, an umbrella over them courtesy of Byakuya to keep them dry. Uryū wore Renji's jacket as requested by Rukia, who wore her brother's surcoat as requested by Byakuya. The clouds have darkened more as thunder boomed and the rain slowly increased.

Uryū's tired eyes looked in shock at the sight of blood and carnage, his last memory of this village being a beautiful one. Rukia tightly grasped the cuff of the jacket Uryū is wearing in her fingers as she tried her best not to cry out in anguish. Byakuya closed his eyes and bowed his head in respect. Despite being in the Atlesian Military for six years, he still wavers at these haunting sights. Even Kon was quiet.

A cruel laugh garnered Team IURR's attention. They both look at Kariya, who looks back with blood red eyes. "Huntsmen are paragons of virtue and glory? What a childish way of thinking. And it was that childish thinking that made all of this happen." He laughed as he was being escorted away.

After that, Ichigo turns back to the carnage. The rain grew heavier.

_ **We failed.** _

At this revelation, Ichigo collapsed to his hands and knees, not caring that the heavily watered mud is dirtying him. He felt dirtier.

He screams.

He kept screaming.

He kept screaming even when his throat started to hurt and is close to bleeding. The pain of seeing his efforts were all for naught was greater.

His teammates watched helplessly as they watched him crumble. Rukia hid her face into Uryū's arm, trying hard not to cry. She is a Kuchiki for pity sake but that doesn't stop the tears from falling. Uryū stood numbly, feeling as though he may fall apart himself. With the combinations of soreness, fatigue, and now the shock of a ghastly sight, it took a lot to stay upright. He barely noticed the Atlesian colonel holding him by his shoulders to keep him from falling. Renji stood silently, his long ponytail and clothes saturated by the rainwater, as he internally beat himself up.

_Is this all we can do?_


	2. Chapter 01: A Hot Summer's Tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

_It's his fault. It was all his fault. He shouldn't have run out like that. Not in such a dangerous place. Because of his brashness, his mother had to die to protect him._

_Now, Ichigo cries alone underneath the bridge not too far away where his mother's funeral is taking place, arching the river he and his mother would often stop at after dojo. Seeing his mother, a kind and caring woman, lying in a closed casket and lowered into the square hole as his sisters begged them to stop burying mommy, Ichigo runs off to where he is now. His tears continued well up, never stopping as the combinations of pain, sadness, and guilt came over him, a feeling that no nine-year-old should ever face._

"_Hi." A girl's voice greeted. Ichigo looked, expecting to see one of his sisters. Instead, it was a new girl with blonde hair as bright as the sun in low pigtails. Clinging to her is a younger girl about the same age as his sisters with gray eyes that shines like the moon. She was holding a red peony flower. They are both wearing black dresses. Were they attending the funeral? "What are you doing here by yourself?"_

"_Go away. Leave me alone." Ichigo told her._

"_But you're crying."_

_Ichigo sniffed as he tries to wipe away his tears. "N-No I'm not. Why would I be?" Boys like him shouldn't cry, it's girly. That's what the bullies said to him, anyways. To his surprise, the blonde girl sits down next to him, as did the younger girl._

"_It's okay to cry."_

"_Not for me. I'm a boy." Ichigo sniffs again._

"_My daddy cried when my mommy died." The blonde said._

_Ichigo gasped. "You…lost your mommy, too?"_

"_Well, she wasn't _my_ mommy." The blonde flickered her eyes at the girl next to her, who was tapping her heels together, trying to entertain herself. "But she was a mommy I remembered. She made really awesome cookies." She then heard her daddy calling for her. "Oh, we need to go. We had fly suuuper far to get here. Come on, little sis!" her sister nodded before getting up. The youngest girl then gives Ichigo the peony flower. He looks the plant in awe, taking in the various shades of red._

"_Hey, what's your name?"_

_The blonde girl stops before turning at Ichigo again. "Oh, sorry! Daddy has always told me to introduce myself to a friend! My name is—"_

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted. It startled Ichigo to the point that he fell backwards in his chair. Uryū peers over.

"Effective." He said.

"Was that even necessary?" Ichigo asked.

"It was either that, or Renji was going to punch you again." Rukia said. Renji shrugged.

"How long was I out?"

"For a while, you were in a deep sleep." Mizuiro said.

"Yeah, dude. You were even talking in your sleep. Were you having nasty dreams?" Keigo asked. Tatsuki scoffed in disgust.

"Hell no. Don't lump me with you." Ichigo said.

"Then what were you dreaming about, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked.

Ichigo thinks for a moment. "I don't remember."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Summer break is almost over, about a week left. Cicadas chirped loudly in the heat, hoping to find a mate soon. The sun has reached its peak for the day, beaming down it's rays of light to gift anybody it's warm embrace.

"It's hoooooooooot." Nora complained, lying flat on her back in the grass. For the summer weather, Nora is wearing a pink jersey shirt with the number '66' and her surname in white font on the back, gray shorts, white socks, and black shoes. Laying by her head is her green baseball cap that has her emblem etched in it.

"Bleeeeegh." Ruby groaned. She is wearing dark grey overall shorts, a red, hooded, short-sleeved shirt, black/white striped stockings and red high-top converses. Her emblem is on the inside of the overall's pocket.

"You can say that again." Yang said as she fanned herself with her hand. Her outfit is a yellow crop top that has the words 'Crash and Burn' in black font, ripped jean shorts, and a black/yellow plaid shirt tied around her waist, and she wears black converses.

"Bleeeeegh." Ruby repeated in the same miserable tone.

Yang digs through a white handbag and pulls out a handheld small light blue fan. She pulls at the collar of her top so the cool air made from the fan could hit her cleavage. She sighs in relief. Weiss, the owner of the handbag, noticed her missing fan.

"Hey." Weiss said, crossing her arms. Her summer consists of a blue tank top underneath a see-through short-sleeved blouse that makes it look like a lighter shade, light blue jean shorts, and white ankle-length gladiator sandals with an inch heel. She wears some bracelets on her wrist and a white watch.

"This feels niiiice~" Yang said. Ruby feebly reaches for the fan.

"Let me use it, next…" Yang aims the fan in her sister's face. Ruby smiles contently. "Thanks, Sis."

"Don't drain out the batteries!" Weiss demanded.

Nora crawls over to Lie Ren, who is reading a book. His clothes for the weather are a short-sleeved green shirt with a flurry of pink petals, tan trousers, and black flats.

"Reeeen, can you make your super-duper, ultra-looper sundae with Neapolitan, rocky road, chocolate mint ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows, and cherries?" Nora asked pitifully.

"…That sounds good…" Yang said.

Ren turns a page. "I can." Nora looked hopeful. "But we need to go to the market for the ingredients." Her hopes instantly shattered.

"How come you guys aren't effected by the heat?" Ruby asked Blake (who is also reading), Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha.

"I guess I got used to it after helping Prof. Peach." Jaune said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. He is wearing a simple white shirt with short sky-blue sleeves, blue jean shorts, white socks, and black sneakers.

"Are you still assisting her with the greenhouse?" Pyrrha asked. She wears a green blouse with a black belt around her waist, dark red capris, and black heels.

Jaune shook his head. "She said that yesterday was my last day. Since I was doing good, Prof. Peach decided to end my sentence, especially since this is the last week of summer break."

Pyrrha clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful!"

Yang glances at her partner. Blake is wearing a purple/white striped shirt with short purple sleeves tucked in capri jeans with a purple belt and purple converse shoes. On top of her head she wears a dark blue bow.

"Really? You're gonna keep wearing a bow?" Yang asked. "You don't need to hide them anymore."

"…I…" Blake started.

"Oh, leave her alone, Yang." Weiss scolded. "If she wants to keep wearing a bow, then let her. Besides, it matches her shirt."

Blake smiles softly. "Thank you."

"I still say that she looks adorable without it." Nora said.

"INCOMING!" someone shouted. Everyone looks up to see a soccer ball hurdling towards them. Jaune lets out a girlish scream as the ball came at him. Thankfully, Pyrrha caught it before it could hit him.

"…Oh, thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said.

"You're welcome." Pyrrha said.

Jaune noticed Weiss looking at him quizzically and quickly tried to look more macho in front of her. He clears his throat. He winks at the heiress, who rolled her eyes.

"At least we now know the source of that girly scream back at the initiation." Yang muttered to Blake, who tried not to laugh.

"Hey, Tatsuki!" Ruby greeted the person running towards them.

"Hey…" Tatsuki greeted back. "Sorry about that." She wore a white sleeveless shirt with blue/orange/red stripes at the top and bottom of the shirt, jean shorts, and white sandals.

"No harm done." Pyrrha said, handing the ball over to the upperclassman.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"Me and the others are playing volley kickball over there." Tatsuki said, pointing a thumb at the field the others are. "Wanna play?"

"Volley kickball?" Ruby wondered. "What's that?"

Tatsuki grinned. "Come with me and you'll see."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

They arrive at the field where there are place mats set in a diamond-shape, like a baseball field.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime exclaimed, holding a baseball bat. She wears a spring green tank top with a lighter spring green floral long skirt, and white wedged heel bohemian sandals. "Sorry. I hit the ball too far."

"It's okay." Tatsuki said. Orihime noticed teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Oh. Do you guys want to play?" She asked.

"We'd be happy to." Ruby said. "But, I don't think any of us knows how to play volley kickball."

"Oh, it's super easy. Just sit over there and watch us." Orihime said. She points at the bench where Uryū, Rukia, and Mizuiro are at. With them is Shuhei and Rangiku, the two members of team IRYS that the freshmen have come to know when Haven students arrived during the summer break.

Rangiku waved her arm at them. "Hiii~!"

"Hello again, Ms. Rangiku." Ruby greeted.

"Oh please. Just Rangiku is fine." The robust woman said as she gave the girl a hug.

Ruby looks around the field. She sees Orihime at home base and Tatsuki at pitcher. Ichigo, Renji, and Keigo at the other three bases. Ichigo wore a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a blue plaid shirt wrapped around his waist, jeans, and brown shoes. Renji wore a dark gray tank shirt with a black snake design on it, burgundy trousers, and brown leather sandals. Keigo wore a yellow sleeveless shirt and dark green short-sleeved overshirt, gray pants, and black shoes. At the outer fields, there is Ikkaku and Yumichika.

Tatsuki drops the ball on the pitcher's mound, using her foot to keep it from bouncing. "You ready, Orihime?" She asked. Orihime's answer was to ready the bat. Tatsuki backs up before sprinting forward and gives the ball a good kick. As though she is hitting a baseball, she swings the bat and sends the ball flying. The players in the outer field run into action. The ball head towards Ikkaku, his baldhead shining from the sunlight. He hits the ball.

"Heads up, Yumi!" He exclaimed.

Yumichika had little time to react, as he has been inspecting his nails, but he was able to keep the ball from hitting the ground. As this was happening, Orihime ran from her home base to first base, and is now running for second. Ikkaku ran to hit the ball to Ichigo, who is at the second base. Ichigo catches the ball in time to tag Orihime just when she was close.

"So, it's like a combination of kickball, baseball, and volleyball?" Ruby asked as Shuhei went up next.

"That's right." Uryū said. "Ms. Inoue invented it." He wears a loose-fitting white long summer cardigan over a blue shirt, tan trousers that are rolled up to his mid-calf, and black slip-on converse. Around his neck are two necklaces, one with a sun pendant and the other a cross.

"How does it work, exactly?" Jaune asked.

"It's set up like baseball." Mizuiro started to explain. "You have the bases and a batter, but the 'pitcher' kicks a soccer ball to the batter. Once the batter hits the ball to the outer field, the players there hit the ball like a volleyball until it is passed to the players at the bases so they can tag the batter."

"Mmmm…Batter..." Nora said. Ren shook his head, but not without a smile on his face.

"Wanna have a go? The more the merrier~" Rangiku said.

There were no second thoughts.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

After Shuhei's turn, they start another game. This time, with a new set of teams.

Team A: Ichigo, Yang, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Pyrrha, Keigo, Mizuiro, Nora, Tatsuki, and Renji.

Team B: Ruby, Weiss, Uryū, Rangiku, Shuhei, Ren, Blake, Jaune, Orihime, and Rukia.

"You ready, little sis?" Yang asked from the pitcher's mound.

"You bet I am!" Ruby answered. As she is left-handed, she stood at the opposite side of the home base. Yang backs up before kicking the soccer ball towards Ruby. With a good swing, Ruby hits the ball into the air. Not wanting to use her Semblance, Ruby makes a dash to first base, where Renji is. Cupping her hands with the thumbs laid outside, Pyrrha keeps the ball airborne and passes it to Nora. With a happy yell, Nora passes it to the next player until Keigo, who is at second base, catches it just as Ruby was on her way.

The silver-eyed girl skid to a halt before Keigo could tag her and ran back to first base, making it before Renji caught the ball.

"Safe!" Ruby cried out.

Uryū was next. He coolly made his way to the home base, picking up the haphazardly tossed bat. Yang smirks before backing up and kicking the ball. Uryū succeeded in hitting the ball, sending it back to Yang in high speeds, who had to move out of the way out of instinct. Keigo moved out of the way too, as he was behind Yang at second base. And he was staring at Yang's butt.

Ruby sprints into a run, managing to make it to home base as Uryū neared third.

"Wow… For a guy as thin as Uryū, he's got some muscle." Jaune said.

"You have no idea." Rukia said.

Ruby jogs to the back of the line, just behind Weiss. "High five!" Weiss lightly pats her partner's hand.

Rangiku came next. Same as the other times, Yang kicks the ball and Rangiku succeeds in hitting it. Uryū takes his chance to dash to home base. Rangiku ran past the first base just as Renji caught ball passed to him. He throws the ball to Keigo to tag Rangiku. The woman stops a few feet away from Keigo. She then pulls a timid face as crocodile tears appear from her eyes.

"You're not gonna hit me with that ball, are you?" She bunched up her cleavage for good measure. For a moment Keigo turned dumb.

"…uhhhh…"

Rangiku used the distraction to run passed Keigo and third base, much to Ichigo's annoyance.

"KEIGO!"

"What? I'm a healthy growing boy!"

"You're _over 18_. That's not healthy. That's creepy!"

"Okay! I'm a man with needs! Give me a break!"

Rangiku cheered at her victory as she went over to the end of the line. "Nice save there, Rangiku." Ruby said.

"It's all about being cute." Rangiku said.

Uryū's eyes trailed to her 'assets' before turning away with a blushed face and pushes up his glasses. "Among other things."

Weiss looks down on her own chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Some ways away, a certain lion plush is watching the game. Or rather, watching the women… the more ample women. Yang, Nora, Rangiku, Pyrrha, and Orihime's bodies glistened in the sunlight, their cleavages shining in sweat.

"Such beauty~ The way they shine in the sun… The way they _bounce_…" Kon said. He gets an idea. "If I just lie myself in front of one them, then they can hold me close to those heavenly pillows!" He runs off to make his plan a reality.

Lirin, the A.I. inhabiting an artificial blue cockatiel, turns to the viewers. "Come on. We all know what's going to happen."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Nora chuckled to herself as she tapped the bat on the heel of her shoe. She turns her cap around, so the visor is at the back of her head. "Ready when you are!"

Ruby nods before kicking the ball. At that moment, Kon appears in front of Nora, ready to hug her. Well, hug her chest. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Kon winds up being between the ball and the bat as Nora swung at it.

"Noraaa…Shooot!" the girl shouts as the ball, and Kon, were sent flying. Ichigo looks at the ball quizzically.

"What's up?" Yang asked.

"…I'm not sure."

Kon held on for dear life, but it proved to be a bad idea as the players in the outer fields were ready to keep the ball in the air. Out of luckiness, or unluckiness, every time Kon and the ball was hit, Kon is the one who took the brunt of the hits.

"Why is the ball softer than usual?" Blake asked.

"It's probably losing some air." Uryū surmised.

Ren catches the ball as Nora ran past him. He heard a groan of pain and turns the white and black ball around to see Kon. The plush pulled himself off the soccer ball and scurries away.

"Get me the hell out of here!"

Yang uses her hand to block some sunlight from her eyes to see better. "Is that Kon?" She turns to Ichigo knowingly. "Think he was trying to 'catch some glimpses'?"

"Knowing him, probably." Ichigo said.

"Gonna punish him after this?"

"…I think he learned his lesson."

An hour or two has passed and the group were thinking about going into the city for some ice cream, but there was enough time for one more round and Ichigo was at the batting. He was ready, as was Ruby. Ruby kicked the ball to her mentor and Ichigo sends it flying. He wasted no time as he ran to the other bases.

_ **Ya know… I can make you run faster…** _

Oh yeah, that voice is still here. Ichigo had long since been used to the anomaly and he frequently ignored it. Seeing as there has been no problem with it lately, Ichigo saw no need to tell anyone about it.

He was almost to home base when a flurry of rose petals appears before him. Ruby taps the ball gently on his nose.

"Gotcha." Ruby smiled.

Ichigo smiles back.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ichigo declined to go with the others to the ice cream parlor at the outlet mall and opted to just hangout on top of Beacon Tower. His team didn't mind, them knowing that Ichigo just wants some alone time, so it was fine.

He sat up there quietly, watching the sun starting to set. He was brought out of his thoughts by something ice cold pressed to his cheek.

"Oop, sorry!" Ruby apologized, recoiling back a light red popsicle. She has another one in her other hand. "I called for you for like a minute. I guess you were deep in thought."

"Nah, it's fine." Ichigo said. He noticed the popsicles. "What's with those?"

Ruby giggled as she hands Ichigo one. "Sea salt strawberry ice cream from the parlor. They're super good. Also, there's a contest where if you could get a winner's stick, you can win a prize! I bought as much as I could with the allowance my dad gave me and hurried as fast as my Semblance could take me so I could put the rest in the freezer back at the dorm." The girl even ran in place for emphasis. Ichigo chuckled at the sight.

"I guess we should get eating." He said. Ruby nodded before flopping next to him.

The two had become much closer over the summer break. People, especially Yang, joked by assuming they're a couple, but it's far from the truth. Ruby wasn't lying when she said that Ichigo was like a brother she never had, not that Yang wasn't an awesome older sister. Ichigo just has… an 'older brother' charm to him or something. Besides, Ichigo would never dream to date Ruby because A) Yang, B) Ruby reminds him of his sisters, C) Yang, D) he _might_ still have lingering feelings for a certain someone, and E) Yang.

Ichigo and Ruby ate silence until they have finished the ice cream. They look to see what they got.

Both sticks said 'loser'.

"Awww. Gee darn it." Ruby bemoaned. Ichigo chuckled with mirth and Ruby joins in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Planted Seeds


	3. Chapter 02: Planted Seeds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Ruby hums to herself as she skipped to the cluster mailboxes near the entrance of the dormitory. Punching in the code of the box designated for RWBY, she opened it. Inside is a couple of magazines, an envelope, and a cylindrical tube with a note attached. Ruby eyed the tube curiously before taking it out. She stumbles at the surprise weight the tube carry.

_I wonder what's inside?_, she wondered. Ruby shrugged her shoulders as she took out the magazines and envelope and closes the lid.

"Hey, Ruby." Ichigo greeted as he and Uryū entered the building.

"Oh, hey." Ruby greeted back. She notices the two wearing their combat attire. "Mission?"

"Yeah. A search and rescue mission a little ways away from Vale." Ichigo said.

"What do you have there?" Uryū asked, glancing at the tube.

"I have no idea." Ruby said. She looks at the folded note. "Apparently, it's from my dad." She turns back to her mentors. "What are you guys up to? Coming to say bye?"

"I just need to ask you and your team a question." Uryū answered.

"Oh, okay. Follow me then. They're in the living room." Ruby said as she led the young men to the area where Yang is playing a video game on the holographic tv, Weiss is checking her makeup, and Blake is reading… when is she isn't? "Hey, girls! Mail's here."

"Sweet." Yang said, not breaking eye contact from the game.

"And Uryū wants to ask us something." Ruby added.

"I just want know what you girls like to read." Uryū said.

"Oh, I like comics!" Ruby exclaimed, raising her hand and dropping the magazines and envelope in the process.

"…I think you need to be more specific than that, Ruby." Yang said.

"Oh…" Ruby said. Blake bends over the armrest of the couch to gather up the dropped mail. "Okay, I prefer ones with a lot of action. Ooh! Have you heard of the new superhero manga? The one where the main character goes to a high school for heroes?"

"It's going to take you two minutes to read that whole book, Ruby. They're nothing but pictures." Weiss said.

"No, it wouldn't it." Ruby argued.

"Rubes is right. She'll have her nose in it for, like, an hour or so." Yang said.

"Told ya so." Ruby said, sticking her tongue out childishly.

"Weiss, I think this is for you." Blake said as she handed the envelope to the heiress. She looks over it and a smile graced her lips.

"It's from Winter." She said.

"You're sister?" Yang wondered, putting down her Scroll, which she was using as a controller.

"That's right." Weiss answered. "Oh, I wonder what she wrote."

"Can't you just text her?" Yang asked, nonchalantly.

Weiss hmphed. "You have no clue about etiquettecy."

"…I don't even know what that word means." Yang said. "I don't really care much for books, but I do like S.E. Brine novels, the king of horror."

"I…like all kinds of books, really." Blake said, trying to hide a guilty blush.

Weiss took a moment to think. "I have read _Death of an Aristocrat_. A fantastic read. I have taken a liking to the _Famine Event_ series and _Eventide_."

Yang makes a disgusted sound. "Yeeugh, you actually read that stupid vampire story?"

Weiss huffed. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Don't tell me you watched the movies too."

"And if I do?"

"Why are you asking?" Blake asked.

"…No reason." Uryū said as he typed what he heard in his Scroll. Ichigo rolled his eyes at Uryū's poorly veiled excuse. He noticed the cylinder that Ruby is still holding twitching.

"Hey, Ruby, something's moving in there." Ichigo said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, you're right. Hey, Yang. We got something from Dad." Ruby said.

"No foolin'? What is it?" Yang asked as she stood to her feet and walked over.

Ruby unscrews the lid of the tube and holds it upside down. Something black and furry slipped out and landed on the carpet floor. It twitched before puffing into fullness. Everyone in the room looked closer at it. It was a black/white-furred corgi with a red collar and a golden tag with a bone and two dots.

*Bark**Bark*, the little animal said.

"ZWEI!" Ruby and Yang cheered as they picked up their beloved pet.

"He sent a dog…" Uryū started.

"…in the mail?" Weiss finished.

"Oh, he does this all the time." Yang said as Zwei starts to lick at Ruby's face.

"…Your father or your dog?" Blake asked… about seven feet away.

"I think a better question is how did he manage to fit a medium sized dog in this thing." Ichigo wondered, picking up the dropped tube.

"If I'm being honest, I could see your father doing this sort of thing too, Kurosaki." Uryū said.

Ichigo opens his mouth to protest but thought about it. "…You're probably right."

"So, you're saying that this mangy mutt is…" Weiss was about to object before she saw Zwei looking at her upside down with his button-like eyes and his tongue lolled out to the side. "…going to wive with us fowever? Oh, yes he is, yes he is." Much to everyone's surprise, Weiss took Zwei from Ruby's arms and into her own as she started to baby talk him.

"…Keep him away from my belongings." Blake said, staring at the canine warily. Funny enough, you could almost see her hair raised on ends, like how an actual cat would when frightened.

"Uh, need I remind you that Renji is a _dog_ Faunus? I've never seen you like this around him." Yang pointed out, rather amused to see her normally stoic partner like this in the presence of a docile pooch. "Wait. I think you were a little spooked when you first sparred with him."

"…This is different." Came Blake's reply. She remembered the time she first fought against Renji. It was okay, until Renji had her at sword point. Blake knew that Renji wasn't going to hurt her but coupled with the fact that Renji has red hair and a deep voice like a certain someone Blake knew, it brought up some disdainful memories. Ichigo could feel her discomfort.

"I'm not sure if this is allowed." Uryū commented as he scratched Zwei below the chin. "I wonder why Mr. Xiao Long sent him."

"Here's a note." Yang said as she took the note off the tube. "Dear girls, I have to leave home for the moment, so I need you two to keep an eye on Zwei until then. I've sent everything he needs with him. Love you both, Dad." She read.

Ichigo chuckled. "Okay, I was a little skeptical about the delivery process of a 30-pound dog in a 2½x9 inch mail tube, but I've seen some crazy stuff, either from missions or at home with my nutty fruitcake of a dad. But there is no way that I'll believe that there is more in this thing. I just can't." To prove his point, he turned the tube upside down. In some kind of miracle, at least dozens of dog food cans spilled out of the tube, following by a can opener and chew toys. Uryū's jaw dropped slightly at the sight. "Okay, I'm done. Ishida, let's go." He said as he flung the tube away and threw his hands in the air as he walks away.

"Ichigo." Ruby spoke up. Ichigo turns at her. "You'll be okay." Ichigo's eyes widen slightly and his lips part a small bit. The other three members of RWBY smile at him too. Zwei barks from Weiss' arms. Even Uryū had the faintest of smiles.

Ichigo chuckled a little. "…Right."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ichigo and Uryū arrived at Tukson's Book Trade. They enter through and were met with the smell of books. The store's owner, Tukson, wasn't present, but the two could hear him in the backroom, humming. Uryū dings the bell on the front desk.

"Coming." They heard Tukson said. Not a minute later, a burly man of six feet emerged from the backroom. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to—" He recognized the two. "Oh. Well, if it isn't Uryū and Ichigo." He greeted warmly.

"It's great to see you again, Tukson." Uryū said. After giving Tukson a quick 'hey', Ichigo browsed around the shelves.

"Likewise. What do I owe the pleasure?" Tukson said.

"I'm here to order some books before my team and I head out for a mission today."

"Anything for my star ex-employee." Tukson said.

"Then I hope you don't mind with assisting me with some recommendations." Uryū said.

"Of course not. What do you have in mind?" Uryū shows him the list. "Hmmm. Let me see what I have. What about you?" He asked Ichigo.

Ichigo shook his head. "I'm good. Thanks though."

Tukson nodded. "All right. Just give me a minute and I'll be right back." He moves back into the rear room. Sometime later, he reemerges with stacks of books. "Here we are." He places the books on the desk and sorts them out. "These are the books with high recommendations. From Brine's latest _Asylum_ to the manga collection of _Hero High_." Uryū looks through the novels.

"Hmmm…these are really good choices. Do you by any chance have the last two installments of the _Hymn of Flames_ series?" Uryū asked.

Tukson thought for a moment. "…I can order them. It might be until tomorrow though. I can also call for the _Shattered Morn_ from the _Eventide_ series."

Uryū grimaced at that. "…Sure."

"I thought the slogan was 'Home to every book under the Sun.'" Ichigo remarked, earning an elbow to his ribs.

"I get that a lot." Tukson laughed as he types on the cash register. "This is your total with some discounts." Uryū hands him a card to pay for it. "Thank you for your patronage. Would you like for your purchases to be delivered?"

"Sure, why not? We'll be gone until tomorrow."

"All right." Tukson said as he types on a computer. "Expect the delivery either tomorrow or the next day."

Uryū nods. "Will do."

The warm smile on Tukson's face slowly changed to a small frown. "Uryū, what would you think if I were to give you all the books in this entire store?"

"…Why are you asking me that?" Uryū questioned.

"Just curious." Tukson said. Ichigo could almost feel the uneasiness coming off of the broad man. Lately, he's been able to… more or less 'feel' other people's emotions. Or, at least, the negative ones, whether they are minor or not.

"…Well, I'd be flattered. Why?"

"…I've been thinking about leaving." Tukson admitted. "Business hasn't been booming lately, especially since you left to attend Beacon. I guess folks aren't so kind to Faunus store owners."

"Tukson, you don't have to listen to those people." Ichigo said.

"I know, but you know the old saying: Money talks." Tukson said. "I can't keep a failing business afloat."

Uryū looked solemn and sighed softly. "If…that is what you wish, then I hope you will endure in future endeavors."

Tukson smiles. "Don't worry. No matter what my new job may be, you will always be my star employee… I'm happy to see that you are doing well."

"?...What do you mean?" Uryū asked.

"I remember when I first hired you, you were a little rough around the edges. Not rude, but at the same time, not kind either. But, after some time, you've loosened up a little. And now, you seem at peace with yourself."

He turned his head away so neither broader men could see his blush. "Th-thank you."

Familiar with this behavior, Tukson chuckled. "You're welcome."

"Have a good day, Tukson. Let's go, Kurosaki."

"'Kay." Ichigo said as they leave. Once they were gone, Tukson's smile changed to a frown of dread.

He needs to hurry…

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Well, that was fun." Ichigo commented.

"Not funny, Kurosaki." Uryū scolded.

"I wasn't joking." Ichigo said. Uryū sighs. "You…care for the guy a lot, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Uryū said. "He was the only one willing to give me a job when no one else would because I'm a Quincy."

"I'm surprised that you were willing to order those _Eventide_ books." Ichigo said. "I thought you hated those."

"I do." Uryū said. He pushes up his glasses. "Still, they're not as bad as _The Boy with the Scar_ and _King of Crowns_, given their poor description of my people."

"Yeah. I agree with the use of tiny, timid elf slaves being a bit of an insult, but you have to give the author of _King of Crowns_ some credit. He was spot on with the Quincys' arrogance." Ichigo grinned mischievously as he ducks from Uryū's attempt to hit him.

"Itsygo!" They heard Nelliel Tu Odelschwank called out from the other end of the street as ran to them. "Is Itsygo ready to go?"

"Hey, Nel. Yeah, we're ready." Ichigo said.

"Yay! It's been a long time since Nel and her team went on a mission with Itsygo and his team!" Nel exclaimed, obviously happy. Ichigo smiles at her. She may be closer to becoming a Huntress than most of her peers, but she still has a charm of a little girl…unless you make her mad.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ruby scurried over to hide behind an armchair, covering her mouth to muffle her snicker. Zwei waddled into the living room, looking for his owner. He tilts his head curiously.

"Boo!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping up from her hiding spot. Zwei barked excitedly, waging his stubby tail. Ruby giggles. "Okay, your turn! Go go!" The corgi jumps into a run after Ruby ducks behind the armchair. After a minute or two, Ruby gets to her feet to find Zwei. She scans around the living room to find the hiding pooch.

Zwei pops out from underneath the coach with a bark. "There you are! Ready for another round?" Ruby asked the dog. Zwei's answer was a wag of his tail and running around. "Okay. Wait for moment and…" Ruby trails off when she noticed a magazine on the coffee table. It was a Cookie Fab magazine, showing off a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Ruby goes to pick it up to examine it closer. Zwei tilted his head again like before. As Ruby read through the recipe, a feeling of nostalgia grew.

She wants to bake this. She wants to bake this and share it with her friends. "Sorry, Zwei. Looks like we're done for the day." Almost understanding what she said, Zwei's ears drooped. Seeing this, Ruby pulls out a rubber bone from her overall's front pocket. She gives it a squeeze, making it squeak. The sound made Zwei perk back up. Ruby lightly tosses the toy and Zwei chases after it.

Ruby goes to the kitchen to see if there are any ingredients, which there should since Ren likes to stockpile. Not at all shocking, given the bottomless pit named Nora Valkyrie. Thankfully, there is plenty to bake cookies. 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, half one cup of vegetable oil, one cup of white sugar, one cup of light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and the key ingredient: chocolate chips. After turning on the oven for 375 degrees Fahrenheit, Ruby slips on a black apron and went to work. Using a decent sized bowl, she whisks the ingredients together. After that, she places 24 chunks of the dough on a nonstick oven sheet. When the oven is ready, she places the sheet in and closes it. She then sets a timer on her Scroll for about 10 minutes and waited, sitting on the heels of her feet as she watches the sweets baking. The feeling of nostalgia grew as time went on…

_Summer Rose, along with her two daughters, 4-year-old Yang and 2-year-old Ruby, watch the cookies in the oven bake. The timer went off, meaning they are finished._

"_Yay!" Yang cheered._

"_Mama cookie. Mama cookie." Ruby cooed._

"_Wait a minute, girls." Summer chuckled as she uses a rag to pull the sheet out of the oven. "We still need to wait for the cookies to cool." She places the sheet containing freshly bake cookies on the counter. The three waited again, the youngest two fidgeting with anticipation._

"…_Is it ready yet?" Yang asked. Summer hovered a hand over the baked goods and taps the sheet. She smiles._

"_Go ahead." Summer said. The girls smiled big and Yang makes a grabbed for two as Ruby tries to reach for one. Summer giggled. "Yang be mindful. You need to save some for your dad and Uncle Qrow."_

"_Kay!"_

"_Here you go, Ruby." Summer said as she hands her toddler daughter a cookie. Ruby happily grabbed it in her chubby hands and starts to nibble on it. Summer smiles fondly. She places her hand on Ruby's feathery hair, caressing it with care. The toddler looks up, young silver eyes meeting mature ones. "Is it good, Ruby?"_

_Little Ruby giggled._

The timer went off, bringing Ruby out of her memories. Putting on some oven mittens, she opens the oven and takes out the sheet. After letting it cool, she places the cookies on a plate.

"Mmm, something smells good." A new voice said. Ruby turns to see a slightly older female with dark skin, red eyes, and mint green hair.

"Oh, hello. I haven't seen you before. Are you from one of the other schools?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I'm a student from Haven." The girl said. She held out a hand. "Emerald Sustrai. A member of team CEAM." Ruby takes the hand in a shake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ruby Rose."

"Sorry for coming in unannounced, but I was exploring and I couldn't help but smell that delicious aroma." Emerald said eyeing the cookies.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I just got done baking cookies." Ruby said. "Would you like one?"

"I would love one. Thank you." Emerald said.

Ruby turns to get a cookie and hands it to the older girl. "Here you go. Careful, it's a little hot." She then heard a strange sound. It sounded like a 'shoo' and was a little high-pitched. She looks around for the source.

"Is…something wrong?" Emerald asked, a little concern.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Thought I heard something." Ruby said. It was probably Zwei.

"Oh, okay. I'll be going then. Thanks for the cookie!" Emerald thanked as she left.

"You're welcome!" Ruby said. She turns back to her baked goods and noticed something. "Huh. I could've sworn there was more cookies than this." She shrugged. "Probably Nora."

Emerald hums to herself as she emerged from the dorm with a nice handful of cookies in her arm. Mercury was there, waiting for her.

"What's with those?" He asked.

"A snack." Emerald replied. She smacked Mercury's hand when he tried to get one.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

It was a little after six when Tukson returned to his store after he made his…delivery. What he did was incredibly dangerous, but he had no other choice. The White Fang… it's nothing like it used to be. While they were gaining respect by using force and showing the humans that Faunus are necessary, the latest plans for the next operation… what is Adam thinking? Does he want his brothers and sisters die?

Tukson went into the back room of his shop, where his other books are, as well as a table and a few chairs. None of his patrons knew this, but Tukson's Book Trade does more than sell books. It's one of the meeting places for the Vale branch of the White Fang. They conduct secret operations here and the last meeting two weeks ago… this is getting too much. Adam is clearly not thinking straight. This is not the answer… Tukson could only hope that _they_ can stop this from happening before it starts.

He hears someone ding his bell, waiting for his service. "Be right there!" In an effort to look natural, he takes a few stacks of books. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun. How can I—" he gasps when he sees the 'customers'.

One was a young man with partially slick back silvery-gray hair and gray eyes and his attire consists of mostly slate gray and black. The other is a young woman with dark skin, red eyes, and mint green hair. Her clothes showoff her midriff and a little bit of cleavage. She looked innocent, but Tukson knew better.

"Hey." The girl greeted. "I was wondering if you have a copy of _The Thief and the Butcher_?"

Crap.


	4. Chapter 03: Underneath Our Noses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Night has fallen as Mercury and Emerald return to their dorm, the latter looking pleased with herself. "Somebody looks happy." Mercury commented. "Want me to grab you a bone?"

Emerald rolled her eyes. "I am just following Cinder's orders, something that you should start trying."

"And how is that any different from a lap dog?" Mercury asked.

The female thief scowls at him. "Whatever. Let's just report back to Cinder." She knocks gently on the door. "It's me, Emerald."

"Come in." Cinder said from the other side. Emerald opens the door to see her benefactor sitting on her bed, sewing a black outfit. Laying down on the other bed is a young, Quincy male. He has pale peach skin with brownish-red eyes. His hair is long, in a crimson-red color and is in a styled, yet slightly messy look. He seems to have a laid-back look on his face. He is reading a book. "And where have you two been?" Cinder asked.

"Mercury and I went to take care of Tukson." Emerald declared proudly.

"Isn't that the runaway Roman was supposed to deal with himself?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, it was. But Roman had been taking his sweet time to even do it." Mercury said.

"So, we decided to do it for him." Emerald added. "Tukson was gonna leave first thing in the morning."

Golden, well-groomed eyes narrowed. Cinder gently places the clothing next to her. She glances at the two. "Didn't I say that you two should keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

Mercury tsked. "Didn't Alvis here do the same thing with those dudes from Club Junior?"

A brownish-red eye twitched. "At least _I_ cleaned up my mess." Alvis quipped as he flipped a page.

Cinder hummed a little. "While that was unexpected, it has at least got rid of some potential rats."

When the red-haired Quincy didn't acknowledge Cinder's praise, Emerald sneered at him. "You better show Cinder some respect, Alvis." She growled. She was also mad that Alvis was the one being praised.

A laugh catches both Mercury and Emerald off guard as Alvis rose from the bed with his closed book in hand. A wicked smile twisted his face, a huge contrast to his aloof appearance just a moment ago. "Aren't you cute playing handmaid for Cinder here. News flash, I'm not going to bow and lick her glass slippers like a certain somebody." Emerald would have attack Alvis if Mercury didn't hold her back. Alvis released a breath through his nose. "It's late. I'm going to bed."

Not the least bit unsettled, Cinder said, "Rest well." Alvis nodded before leaving.

"I still don't see why you invited him into this." Emerald said. "He doesn't cooperate when he needs to."

"Emerald, what did I say about knowing your place?"

"S-Sorry, ma'am…"

Cinder turns to Mercury. "You go too. You will need the rest." Mercury, clearly not happy with rooming with Alvis, followed orders.

After Mercury left, Emerald turns to Cinder, her expression now submissive. "My apologies, ma'am."

"Oh, don't worry." Cinder said. "After all, tomorrow is another day."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

A poor girl had tears streaming down her face. Who could blame her? She, along with many other children, were taken away from their homes and to a place completely unknown to them. Thankfully, Rukia was there to calm her.

"It's okay. You're safe now." She said to the child, pulling her into her lap. She looks over at the other children in the building huddled near her, also as scared. Seating in the corner adjacent from them is a man, though his features are shadowed by the darkness of the room. Rukia looks outside a broken window where a battle is taking place outside.

Hordes of Grimm had appeared, sensing the fear of the kidnapped children trapped in the dilapidated building. Thank whatever deity that IURR and NGUS arrived in time when they did. Ichigo, his Zangetsu in his hands, hacked and slashed at the Grimm.

** _Ain't ya gonna use your power?_ **

_Shut up, will ya? _Ichigo argued to the voice as he continued his assault.

Assisting him is Nel, using her double-sided lance to attack. One large Beowulf made a swing at her and she jumps out of the way. After a couple of slashes at the Grimm, Nel stabs the Beowulf in the chest. An Ursa goes to attack her from behind and she leaps back. When she positioned her lance on her shoulder, the tip portion lifted open and a grenade was launched out and killed the Ursa.

A member of Nel's team, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, seems to be having the time of his life. Like Nel, he too is a Faunus, his trait being the panther-like ears nestled in his wild, electric blue hair. A tall and muscular with blue eyes paint with green lines underneath. He looks like a punk rocker with a tattoo on the side of his face styled to look like teeth and his attire consists of a black shirt with light blue claw marks (his emblem) which he keeps partially unzipped, exposing his muscled chest and a large scar. He also wears black pants with light blue panther spots and black boots, and two belts around his waist. He also wears a ragged white jacket with an upturned collar and turquoise panther spots along the lower half. The inner lining of his jacket is black and Grimmjow wears it with the sleeves rolled up and leaving it open to expose his muscular chest. On his hands are black gloves with light blue claw rings on each digit.

Said claw rings are extended as Grimmjow slashed through every Grimm that met his gaze. He had just got done with a Beowulf when another behind him gets shot by an arrow. Grimmjow glowers at the culprit. "That was _my_ prey, Quincy!" he growled.

Uryū only rolled his eyes. He stabs through the jaw of a Beowulf with the tip of his staff. After it died, he turns the staff back into a long bow. He pulls back the Aura string and releases a volley of Aura arrows at a colony of Death Stalkers, killing them instantly. Calls of Nevermores caught his attention to the sky. However, the raven-like Grimm are already being dealt with.

Ulquiorra Cifer, a Quincy of NGUS, aims his javelin up to the Nevermore flock, a hand in his pocket. He is slimmer and paler, more so than Uryū himself. He has dull green eyes, shoulder-length black hair, and his upper lip is painted black, as well as his black eye liner and nail polish. In fact, he looks straight out goth.

His held little expression as he created Aura replicas of his javelin and flew them towards the Nevermores, killing several. What's left of the avian Grimm fired off their feather projectiles at the Quincy. With a powerful swing of his javelin, Ulquiorra swerved the feathers off course, landing to places further from the building. Some of the feathers even returned back to the Nevermores, impaling and killing them. Ulquiorra flicks his javelin, his free hand still in his pocket, in time for an Ursa to attack him. Renji comes into view and blocks the Ursa with his shield before slicing it in half.

"…That was unnecessary…" the goth Quincy said monotonously before sprinting off.

Renji shrugs. "You're welcome."

Rukia grins at the sight. There're really isn't anything to worry about. But then, one of the children screeched in horror as they saw Grimm coming to the other side of the building. Rukia gets up and readies her sword.

A yawn erupts from the man in the corner. "Oh, come on. And here I thought I could take a good nap." He complained as he gets up. He, Coyote Starrk, is a tall man with a right blue-gray eye while the left is covered by an eyepatch connected around his head by two small chains and wavy, dark brown hair, which ends at the base of his neck, is unkempt, and is parted down the middle. He has a faded goatee. His upper body is covered in a gray fur-lined jacket over a double-breasted vest, while his legs are covered in dark, skin-tight pants, with gray knee-high fur leggings covering his lower legs, and his arms are covered in gray, elbow-length fur armbands, which end at his wrists. There are ribbon-covered bandoleers emerging from his upper back and disappearing into his upper forearms. By his side is a light pastel green-furred wolf with a visible left light pink eye, as her left eye is covered by an eyepatch. Both of their eyepatches have an eyelike symbol on it.

The lackadaisical man yawns again as he brandished his twin guns from his fur-covered holsters. "Whelp…" He aims his gun at the Grimm. "…no use cryin' over it." He pulls the trigger, shooting a Beowulf square in the head. Coyote proceeds with his shooting as the wolf, Lilynette, leaps out of the window and charges at an Ursa. The wild canine sunk her teeth into the bear Grimm's throat, ripping and tearing it. With the Ursa dead, Lilynette went after a Beowulf. Coyote whistled. "She was gettin' angsty." The kids watched in awe and Rukia chuckled.

Soon, all the offending Grimm were taken care of and after checking to make sure that no more were approaching, they guide the kids out of the building.

"You guys were so cool!" one boy exclaimed.

"Thank you for helping us!" A little girl thanked them.

Nel giggled, kneeling to their level. "Nel, Itsygo, and their teams are happy to help!" The children cheered. Ichigo smiled. Thank whatever deity out there that they made it in time… Ichigo was able to find them by sensing their distress. Imagine Uryū's shock when _he_ found them first. Ichigo turns to the building, pondering. Why did the kidnappers leave them there? What's going on?

Is this kidnapping anything like the ones from before?

The vibrant-haired human notices his Quincy partner looking at the building as well, his expression thoughtful. Maybe even worried. No… he _is_ worried. Ichigo walks over the children. "Hey," he said in a gentle tone as he bends down to one knee. "Do any of you know who brought you guys here?"

The kids didn't seem sure. "I don't know." One said.

Ichigo takes out his Scroll. After looking for something, he shows it to the kids. "Do these men look familiar?" He asked them. The Scroll showed the pictures of Ryo Utagawa and Ugaki, the two members of the disbanded Bount Group, who has been on the run for the past year.

The kids shook their heads 'No'. Well, that's good… for the most part.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Oh, thank you all so much!" a mother thanked the teams as she held her daughter close.

"Nel is happy to help!" Nel said.

"…May I admit something to you?" the woman asked.

"Sure. What is it?" Nel asked.

The woman seemed ashamed as she balanced her child on her hip. "I…used to think rather unsavory about the Faunus, but after this, I can safely say that there are amazing Faunus out there." She looks at something behind Nel. The woman smiled. "Especially since the children are delighted." Nel looks and sees a cute and funny sight. Cute because Ulquiorra of all people was doing the ol' pulling-thumb-off trick to entertain the kids and funny because, all the while, he still had on his dull expression. Nel giggled.

Ichigo smiles a little. He remembers when he first met the palerer Quincy two years ago. He didn't like Ulquiorra at all. The goth had an attitude, or lack thereof, that didn't sit right with Ichigo. However, after he met his girlfriend, Ulquiorra was… nicer in a sense due to his personality. Still a prick, but more tolerable.

The Grimm Reaper scans around taking in the children reuniting with their families, some kids he noticed didn't look they're related to a family. Orphans, maybe.

Ichigo finds Uryū again off to the side, seating on a bench, his expression the same as before. Ichigo walks to his partner. "Everything all right?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh… it's nothing." Uryū said.

"Of course, it's not nothing." Rukia said as she appeared beside Ichigo. Renji also comes into view as he leans on the back of the bench. "Now, what's wrong?"

Uryū didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned his gaze to the children. Renji noticed it and connected the dots right away. "Does it have anything to do with the recent kidnappings?"

"Yes." Uryū answered.

"And does it have anything to do with you have been held captive by the Bount Group and by Askin…?"

"…Yes."

"I…thought you don't remember what they did to you." Ichigo said.

"I don't. I still don't. But…" Uryū trailed off. His grip on his arms tightened. He really can't remember what Utagawa and Ugaki were doing to him, what he does remember was pain. So much pain. More so than what Askin Nakk Le Vaar did two years ago, and that's saying something. Rukia takes a seat on the bench next to Uryū and snaked her arm around his back, Renji places a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Ichigo sits on the armrest, placing his hand on Uryū's other shoulder. They stayed like this for a while until Grimmjow walked up to them.

"Now that all the brats have all been accounted for, we can get the hell out of here."

"Right." Ichigo said as he stood. He then heard something in the sky. He looks up to see Atlesian Military Airships flying towards the direction to Vale.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

IURR and NGUS arrived back at Beacon at lunchtime. Nel stretches her arms up to the sky. "Nel had so much fun!" she exclaimed. "She also had fun being with Itsygo and his teammates again."

Coyote yawned. "I'm gonna go take a nap." He walks away, Lilynette just behind him.

"Okay. Have a good nap!" Nel said. She notices Ulquiorra leaving. "Where is Ulquiorra going?"

"…I have to rendezvous at a place called Único Gusto. I will not speak any further." Ulquiorra said before walking off. Nel giggled.

"A date, huh?" She wondered. "Well, Nel is going to a spa with Rangiku. Nel thinks her horns could use a good filing." She turns to Rukia. "Does Rukia want to come?"

"Thanks, but I'll have to decline. I'm meeting up with my brother for lunch." Rukia said.

"Okay, Nel will see everyone later!" Nel said before jogging off.

Kon pops out of Ichigo's duffle. "Can I come to? I can do one hell of a massage!" Just as the plush jumped out, he was caught by Lirin and her talons.

"You're welcome." She said before flying off with a crying Kon.

"Byakuya is here?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Colonel Kuchiki." Rukia, Renji, and Uryū corrected.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He notices the Atlesian Air Fleet around Beacon. "I'm curious as to why did Ironwood bring his entire air force for the Vytal Festival."

"Color me surprise. Kurosaki is actually vigilant." Uryū quipped.

"…You can't go through one day without ever saying something snarky, can you?"

"If I did, I would spontaneously combust." Uryū joked.

"If you ask me, that would be an improvement." Ichigo retorted.

"Ha-ha. But you are right about the Atlesian armed force being here. I understand one airship, but practically the whole fleet?"

"I'm being honest, it's kind of unsettling." Renji said.

"Maybe I can ask Brother about it." Rukia suggested.

"That would be nice." Uryū said. "Provided that he is allowed to."

"Maybe _you_ should ask him." Ichigo said to Uryū coyly.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Okay, okay. We just got back from a mission. Save the quarrel for another time." Renji said.

"Yeah." Rukia said. She turns to Ichigo and Uryū. "Don't try to kill each other, deal?"

"But it's so much fun." Ichigo said.

"Later." Rukia laughed before leaving.

"As for me, I'm heading to the gym." Renji said. "Catch you guys later."

"So, what are you going to now?" Ichigo asked Uryū.

"I think I'll go see Team RWBY since it's lunch time right now." He answered.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about doing another training session."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get going then."

"Mind if I join?" Ichigo and Uryū jumped by the gruff voice of Grimmjow. How did they forget that he was still here? Despite his bad-temperament, Grimmjow is oddly patient.

"Oh… You sure?" Ichigo asked. Grimmjow shrugged. "… Okay. Then let's go."

They walked to the mess hall, where they meet up with Sun Wukong and his teammate, Neptune.

"Huh? Oh, hey!" Sun greeted.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"I was going to introduce Neptune to Blake and her friends."

As they were talking, Grimmjow leaned the wall next to a window. Great, he was patient enough before, but his impulsiveness is starting to take over. He then heard something hitting the window from the inside. He sees various foods being thrown about in the mess hall. Even _Jaune_ was thrown into the window. Grimmjow watched in bewilderment as the blonde boy slid down the glass, saliva and snot trailing down with him.

"Uhhh, Kurosaki?" the panther Faunus spoke up.

"What?" Ichigo asked. Grimmjow points into the cafeteria. Ichigo sees what is going on. "What the…?"

Ichigo, Uryū, Sun, Neptune, and Grimmjow runs into the cafeteria just as the students ran out. The hall looked like a tornado just hit the place. Nora, standing on top of a pile of tables, laughs manically.

"I'm queen of the castle~! I'm queen of the castle~!" She exclaimed. The rest of JNPR are standing on various levels of the tables, almost like guards.

"What is happening?" Uryū asked.

Ruby jumps on a table with a milk carton in hand. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She squeezes the carton, the milk spewing out. "It will be DELICIOUS!" her teammates let out war cries. The battle is on. All the while, Ichigo and Uryū stood there in silent astonishment with their mouths gaping open, feeling like they were watching a train wreck happening. The freshmen students even used various products that were akin to their weapons. Ruby has an oversized lamb chop as a substitute for her scythe for goodness sake!

At some point, after knocking Yang through the roof, Nora was starting to gain the upper hand, thanks to the assist of Pyrrha. Soon, only Ruby was left standing. Not willing to back down, Ruby uses her Speed at full power, going at beak neck speeds to the point of carrying soda cans, dishes, food, and even Jaune and Ren along. The Ruby spins around, making a small twister and taking Pyrrha and Nora as well. Ruby eventually stops on the end of the hall, the force of her speed causing the wall behind her to break. Team JNPR finds themselves planted on the wall and in the mercy of the sodas, food and other objects. Ruby, who leaped out of the way, stood in triumph.

"Well, questions were answered." Grimmjow said to Ichigo. To his surprise, Ichigo and Uryū were covered in food. He glances over his person, not seeing a speck of food on himself miraculously. Uryū removes his glasses, leaving a perfect rim around his eyes.

"I like these guys." Sun said to Neptune, who is also covered. Glynda barges into the cafeteria, none too pleased with the state of the place. Using her telekinesis, she returns the tables back to their spots, put the unshattered dishes into a sink and threw away the broken ones in recycling bins.

"Children, _please_. Do _not_ play with your food." Glynda surmised, giving teams RWBY and JNPR an icy glare. Nora's only response was a burp and Yang falling back down. Thanks to her Aura, she is relatively unharmed.

"Let it go." Ozpin said, appearing beside Glynda.

The blonde combat instructor sighs. "They are supposed to be defenders."

"And they will, in time. But for right now, they are children. So, we should let them play the part. After all," The headmaster turns to Ichigo, "it isn't a role that lasts forever." Ichigo and Uryū exchanged knowing glances.

"Excuse me." Someone said. Everyone turns to see officers Barnie and Yesman from the Vale Police Department.

"Yes? Do you gentlemen need something?" Ozpin asked.

"We're here to speak with one of your students. You are Uryū Ishida, correct?" Officer Barnie questioned Uryū.

"Yes, officer." Uryū answered.

"And it's from our understanding that you were an employee of Tukson's Book Trade?" Officer Yesman inquired.

"Yes, I used to work there before attending Beacon." Uryū answered earnestly. He smiles fondly. "The owner of the store was the only one who offered me a job. I even remember the slogan. 'Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun'. That may have been of a stretch, but it has a nice ring to it." It then dawned on him. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Mr. Ishida..." Officer Yesman said, his voice softens. "Earlier today, Mr. Tukson was found dead in his store."

A small gasp of shock escaped from Weiss as she and the others look on in shock as well.

"...Dead?" Uryū breathed. "...How?"

"It looked like he was shot." Officer Yesman explained. He was starting to feel sympathy for the Quincy, as he did with anyone else when he delivers such news. While he adores being a member of the VPD, this is the one thing he hates about his job.

"And according to Tukson's records, you were the last person he spoken to over the last 24 hours before his death." Officer Barnie said.

No one liked where this is going. "What is it you're tryin' to say?" Ichigo asked, with an edge of danger.

Officer Barnie didn't look intimidated. "We're saying that Mr. Ishida here is a suspect."


	5. Chapter 04: Wavering Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Zakuro was watching an episode of Karakura Raizers when he heard a knock from outside his temporary room. "It's open." He said. Cinder emerges into the room.

"Good evening, Zakuro." Cinder said. She takes a seat next to him. "Oh, don't you look good." Zakuro is wearing a ripped, long-sleeved white shirt with a red butterfly design on the lower corner over a red shirt, faded black jeans and red shoes. He is still wearing a mask over his left eye.

"Thank you."

"And how has your stay been?"

"Fine, for the most part." Zakuro muttered. "I've learned how to cook quiche."

"Really? Sounds nice. And I'm sure Salem would be thrilled to try it." Cinder said.

"… I like cooking for Madre…" Zakuro muttered.

Cinder rubs her hand on his shoulder in almost a sisterly way. "I'm sure you do. How about you make the quiche tonight? I want to try it."

"…I'll need to go get the ingredients."

"That's fine. We can wait. Here." Cinder hands him a Lien. "You know your way around the city at this point, right?" Zakuro nods. "Good. Now, run along and have fun." Zakuro nods again before getting up and leaving. The television starts to report on the murder of a local bookstore owner, a picture of Tukson popped up.

Cinder sighed. She should have known.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Yang's punches were aggressive as she and Renji spared. With one heavy hit, Renji was pushed back, the soles of his shoes screeching on the gym floor.

"That's a lot of aggression." He commented.

"Can you blame me? I'm so wound up!" Yang said. "How could they accuse Angelface like that?"

"At least he was cleared in the end." Renji said.

"You don't seem worried for your teammate." Weiss said.

"That's because I knew Uryū was innocent." Renji declared.

"He doesn't seem to be the type to do such a thing." Scarlet said.

"Perhaps part of the reason for the accusation was because of the mere fact that Uryū is a Quincy." Sage said.

"Man, that's rough." Neptune said.

Sun glances over at Blake, who is seating at the bench, looking solemn. The monkey boy sits next to the cat girl. "You okay?" Sun asked.

"Hm? Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine." Blake gets up. "I think I'll head in early."

"All right." Renji said.

"Catch ya later…" Sun started to say, but Blake closed the door. "…Blake."

As Blake was on her way to her dorm, she bumps into Ozpin.

"Oh, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin said.

"Hello, Prof. Ozpin. Is there something you need?" Blake asked, hoping she could just return to her room.

"Yes, actually. I would like to have a word with you. Will you please come to my office?" Ozpin.

Blake fought back a groan. "…Of course."

Ruby sat on the gym floor as she watched Yang and Renji fight. Her eyes then went to Weiss, who is on her Scroll. She then looks around the gym.

"Hey, has Ichigo ever come by?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think so. In fact, I haven't seen him since lunch." Weiss said.

"Hmmm… I'll be right back." Ruby said before leaving the gym.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ichigo laid back by himself on top of Beacon Tower, gazing into the sky as he thought about what transpired earlier…

_~Flashback~  
_

"_Care to run that by me again?" Ichigo asked, his tone edgy._

"_You heard me. The Quincy here is a suspect of a murder." Officer Barnie said._

"_Excuse me, do you realize who he is?" Weiss questioned._

"_Oh, I know. He's the second son of Ryūken Ishida, CEO of the Ishida Medical Group." Officer Barnie said, looking straight at Uryū. "But don't think that daddy's money is going to bail him out of this." Uryū narrowed his eyes._

"_I would never ask my father to pay for any crime I may have committed." Uryū said. "And instead of judging me about something nothing to do with why you are here, you should be asking me more appropriate questions."_

"_Listen, you little—"_

"_Barnie." Officer Yesman chided. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ishida. Can you at least tell us what you were doing in the last 12 hours or so?"_

"_I was on a mission with my team and a Shade team called NGUS to a village for a search and rescue."_

"_And what village is that?" Officer Yesman asked._

"_Norrow."_

_Taking the information, Officer Barnie looked through the records from his Scroll tablet._

"_I can't believe this." Weiss muttered._

_Seeing the results, Officer Barnie grunts, "You're in the clear." He hands Officer Yesman the tablet and walks away._

"_My apologies, Mr. Ishida. Everyone, please have a good day." Officer Yesman said before following his partner out of the building._

"_Uryū, are you okay?" Weiss asked._

"…_I am." He isn't and Ichigo can feel it. His anguish, grief, anger, and guilt. It eventually became too much and Ichigo decides to leave._

_Ruby notices Ichigo walking away. "Ichigo?"_

"_Should we talk to him?" Yang asked. Ichigo punches the wall on his way out, leaving a noticeable cracked dent. Glynda let's out a sigh._

"_I'd give him a minute to calm down." Ozpin said._

_~End~_

Zwei comes into his line of vision. *Bark**Bark*

"Ichigo?" Ichigo looks up to see Ruby.

"Oh, hey." He said as he sits up. "Is everything all right?"

"I should be asking you that." Ruby said as she sat next to him with Zwei in between.

Ichigo glances back to the sky. "I have experienced the deaths of many people, some being those that I… come to know, whether it be family or friend. So why is it still so…painful?" Ichigo said.

Ruby scratches her head. "Well, I can imagine that's not the kind of thing that you can just 'get used to'."

"…Yeah."

"Tukson was somebody Uryū knew, right?"

"He was the only person to hire Uryū because of some prejudice assholes." Ichigo said. "Sorry."

Ruby shook her head. "No, it's okay. I've heard worse from my Uncle Qrow." She remembered one-time Qrow stubbed his toes hard on the coffee table and started shouting every profanity in the book at the top of his lungs. Tai overheard and scolded Qrow for using foul languages in front of his daughter. Ruby didn't have the heart to remind Tai of all the times he said the 'gd' word every time Yang did a pun.

Ruby also didn't have the heart to tell her father about the time she said the 'sh' word when she broke a plate she was washing.

"I've met him a few times when Ishida goes to order a book. He seems to be a decent guy." Ichigo said.

"Let me guess, Uryū was ordering us some books, right?" Ruby asked.

Ichigo smiled. "You saw through it?"

"Oh, please, it was so obvious." Ruby frowns remorsefully. "And because of that, Uryū almost got in trouble."

"It's was Ishida's choice. There's no need for you to feel guilty." Ichigo said.

"…I guess." Ichigo could tell that Ruby still felt guilty.

"…Wanna go to Royal Burger?"

"Yes, please."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Uryū stood alone at Beacon's outside shooting range, practicing his archery. After the encounter with the VPD, an agent came up to him and told him about Tukson's will. Apparently, the Faunus man have indeed bequeathed to him all his books in the store. He lets loose an arrow at the target yards, piercing just outside the bullseye. Just like 5 five others. Uryū sighs before taking out his Scroll and dials a number. After a few rings, someone picked up.

/Uryū? Is everything okay?/ a strong, stern, female voice asked from the other.

"Y-Yes, Oma, everything is fine." Uryū said, trying to keep calm and collected. "I'm just wondering if there is any room at home for more books?"

/I can check the private library. Why? Did you order some?/ While stern, there was a hint of playfulness.

"Well, yes and no. Do you remember Tukson?"

/Mmm-hmm/

"…He…was found dead this morning. He was killed."

/…Gott im Himmel. Oh, enkel, mein tiefes Mitgefühl. Are you all right?/ his grandmother asked.

"Yes. I'm fine." He didn't want to tell his grandmother about him being accused of the murder. "It's not like this is the first time."

/…And it won't be the last. Especially for people like us./

"…You're right… One day, I'll outlive everyone. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother with making these relationships." Uryū lamented, his grip on his Scroll tightened. He once heard people talk about how jealous they were of the Quincy's longevity and wishes to have it too, the common excuses being that they won't have to die of old age and/or keep their youth.

It's safe to say that Uryū couldn't help but disagree on a sentimental level.

While he is a 12-week-old fetus compared to other, much older Quincys, Uryū have always dreaded the day that he would have to watch his mortal friends grow old and die while he stays the way he is. His father, Ryūken, had once told him of a personal experience of his with two people he had grown close to during the Great War. The Ishida patriarch had said that the losses still stung.

/It's better than being alone, richtig?/

Uryū remembered his time of self-inflicted social isolation from many people. He avoided any sort of connection, even from his own family. And his friends. Ichigo made sure to change all that.

"…You may be right."

/Good. Now, how many books am I expecting?/

"…Ummm…5…10…the whole store."

/…Okay…I guess we can send some to the main house in Atlas, and maybe others to charity…/

Uryū coughs away a sheepish chuckle. "S-sorry, Oma. Tukson was apparently going to give it to me."

/No, no. It's fine. A dear friend has given you the gift of knowledge before his passing. Don't worry. I'll make the arrangements./

"You don't have to do that."

/As your grandmother, I can and I will. Just focus on your school work and the Vytal Festival./

Uryū wanted to protest, decided not to. Not a good idea to be argumentative with Yuhua Ishida. "…Okay, I will."

Yuhua softly chuckled. /Good. Auf wiederhören./

"Auf wiederhören." Uryū said before hanging up. He stares at his Scroll in silence before putting it away and resuming his target practice. He takes an arrow from a container nearby and readies it on his Bogen Sperling. Uryū pulls back and releases the arrow. It pierces the bullseye, but not dead center like he wanted.

"You are still in turmoil." A male voice said. Uryū turns to see the Atlesian Military's colonel and General Ironwood's righthand man, Byakuya Kuchiki. "You won't receive your wanted results unless you calm your heart. Have a moment."

"Colonel Kuchiki."

"My apologies. I was practicing with my sword when I noticed you." Byakuya said.

"There's no need for an apology, Colonel."

"…I've also wanted to see how you are faring."

"…You've heard about what happened from Ms. Kuchiki."

"Again, my apologies. She had received a worrying message from Weiss Schnee about the incident. When I learned it was about you, I wanted to know what happened. As a close friend of Rukia, you are dear to me, like Renji and Ichigo Kurosaki." There was slight disdain in Byakuya's voice at the mention of Ichigo. Uryū pushed back the need to chuckle at Ichigo's expense.

"I see. Thankfully, I am cleared of the charges. I…appreciate the concern, Colonel Kuchiki."

"That's good." Byakuya clears his throat. "I have taken enough of your time. Best of luck." Byakuya turns to leave. "…And…when it's just the two of us, you may refer to me as 'Byakuya'." Uryū's eyes widen a little.

He pushes up his glasses. "…Okay…"

Byakuya nods. "Have a good evening, Uryū."

"You too, Byakuya." After the colonel leaves, Uryū returns to his training.

He goes to get another arrow. When he pulls it back as he aimed, he noticed a folded piece of paper attached to the shaft. It has his name on it and a skull akin to a pirate jolly roger stamped on it.

"Hm?" He removes it and opens it.

_Come to Club Juniors tomorrow – Ohana_

An arrow flew passed him and hit the target. Uryū swung around, his bow and arrow ready, searching for anyone. He couldn't find or sense anything. Uryū cautiously lowered his weapon and went to the target. The newest arrow has a note attached to it. On it said _Team IURR_.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ruby was at the dormitory when she met up with Yang and Weiss.

"Hey little sis, where've you been?" Yang asked.

"I had dinner at Royal Burger with Ichigo." Ruby answered.

Yang grabs her sister in headlock and proceeds to give her a nuggie. "And you didn't invite me because…" She smiled. Ruby tries to break free.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! Uncle, uncle!" Yang relinquishes her hold and Ruby staggers back.

"No sweat, Ruby. It's too bad you didn't stick around a little longer. You should've seen that Neptune guy flirting with the Ice Queen here." Yang said, thumbing at Weiss. "And I think a certain someone has the hots for the guy."

Weiss crosses her arms. "I have no idea what you are talking about. And why do you keep calling me that?"

"'Cause you are." Yang said, opening her door. She sees Blake seating on her bed. "Oh, hey, Blake. Something wrong?"

"…No. Nothing's wrong." Blake said as she stood and walked to the door.

"Stop right there, Belladonna." Weiss said, standing in the cat girl's path. "Ever since we heard what happened to Tukson, you've been quiet, antisocial, and very moody."

"Weiss, meet Blake." Yang said.

Weiss glares at Yang briefly before continuing. "Anyways, whatever is wrong, you can tell us what it is. White Fang member or not, you're a member of this team. A friend." Weiss places a hand on Blake's shoulder. "We're here for you."

Blake's cat ears perked slightly from underneath her ribbon. She glances over at the sisters, who smiled big grins at her. She looks back at Weiss, who smiled warmly. Blake sighs.

"Tukson was a member of the White Fang. His bookstore doubled as a meeting place for the Vale branch." She told them. "It's possible that he knew something crucial during one of those meetings."

"Couple that with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick working together…" Ruby said.

"…and the implications that Tukson was going to leave Vale, due to the news revealing a one-way airline ticket to Vacuo in his belongings." Weiss added.

"Tukson was probably killed to keep something under wraps." Yang said. "Especially since the Neo-White Fang are coming back into power over there."

"The question is, what plan are they trying to hide?" Blake asked.

"Okay, whoever is up for investigating this, say 'aye'." Ruby said, raising a hand.

"Aye."

"Aye!"

*Bark!*

"Aye."

"Aye!"

"Nora? How did you get in here?" Weiss asked.

"You left your door wide open." Nora answered. Ruby facepalmed.

"How much did you hear?" Yang asked.

"How about EVERYTHING!" Nora said excitedly. "Ooo, this is going to be so much fun! A real espionage mission!"

"Wait, Nora. It's probably best if—" Ruby tried to explain, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"I'm gonna tell the others!" Nora zips away. Excited, Zwei ran after her.

.

.

.

"…We're doomed." Weiss said.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"And you think this is legit?" Ichigo asked, a piece of paper in hand.

"If it wasn't, this is a rather elaborate prank." Uryū said.

"Well, it's something." Rukia said.

"And it's better than nothing." Renji said.

"Did you talk with Old Man Oz about this?" Ichigo asked Uryū.

"I have and he and the VPD has given us permission to investigate."

"Then, let's prepare for tomorrow." Ichigo said.


	6. Chapter 05: Espionage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Ichigo had sent a text message to Ruby, telling her that there will be no training sessions today.

"Is everyone ready?" Ichigo asked his team. He wears an orange kimono shirt like his Original but with black borders, black camo cargo pants, and black boots. He also wears a black belt and mid-arm long combat gloves with butterfly patterns. His emblem is in black and is located on the right side of his shirt.

"All set." Rukia said. She wears a white sleeveless kimono top with detached white kimono sleeves and a pale pink obi. Her periwinkle hakama shorts matches her geta-style heels and tabi socks. She still wears her tekko and the Kuchiki Bracers. Her hair is in the same style as the Original.

"Yep." Renji said. He wears a worn out rosy-brown leather jacket, a dark green shirt with the green design of a skeletal snake, light gray pants, and black boots. Instead being in its usual style, his crimson hair is let down with two, thin braids. Wrapped around is his forehead a green tie-dye bandanna with his goggles.

"Ready." Uryū said. He is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with asymmetrical hem and gradients to light blue downwards, a white long-sleeved duster jacket, white pants, and white shoes. Round his neck, he wears a cross necklace. He wears his Dust Glove and pentacle bracelet.

"All right. Does everyone remember their job?" Ichigo asked.

"I will go to Club Juniors to speak with this Ohana person." Uryū said.

"Got the exchange for info?" Ichigo asked.

"Right here." Uryū said, hulling over a large, white, trunk with a dragon symbol on it, his family's insignia. Really, how is a 127 lbs. young man able to lug that thing around?

"I'll head to the CCT to check for any mishaps that may have been going on as if late." Rukia said.

"And I'll keep an eye on any White Fang activities." Renji said.

"Got a WF mask?" Ichigo asked.

Renji pulls out a perfect replica of the standard WF mask. "Courtesy of Uryū. I'm surprised that you already have it ready."

Uryū shrugged. "I was bored one day."

"Are you sure you'd be okay without your weapons?" Rukia asked Renji.

"Ah, I'll be fine. I'm just gathering for info. I'm not gonna pick a fight or anything." Renji reassured her. "Besides, even if I do find myself in a jam, that's why I got _these_." He rolls up his sleeve to flex his muscled bicep. Rukia playfully hits his arm.

Ichigo smiled. "And I'll go check out the Dust shops. Let's get to work."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Rukia, with Lirin on her shoulder, makes her way inside the lobby of Beacon Tower. /Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?/ a CCT AI asked at the front desk.

"I wish to go to the archives room, please." Rukia said. As a member of the Kuchiki member and daughter of Sojun, adoptive or not, Rukia can have access to certain documents the archives department of the CCT systems. Documents such as news feeds, reports, declassified documents and other things.

/Absolutely. Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?/ the AI instructed. Rukia takes out her Scroll and puts it into a slot. A holographic screen appears, showing Rukia's photo and personal/professional information. /Perfect! Thank you, Ms. Kuchiki./ The AI taps away on a holographic keyboard before a 'ding' sounded. /The archives room is now opened for you. Be sure to show the room's terminal your Scroll to verify your identity. As a Kuchiki, you have access up to Level A documents./

"Thank you." Rukia thanked before heading towards a greenlit door. Lirin looks back at the A.I. as another visitor approached the front desk. The A.I. repeated the same exact greeting in the same polite tone, which is customary as a computer program.

Her expression turned gloomy.

"Is something wrong?" Rukia asked the MOD.

"Hm? Oh! I-It's nothing."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Why the hell is there so many Dust shops?" Ichigo wondered as he walks down a street with a list of the Dust shops in hand. The first on the list is From Dust Til Dawn. Kon was with him, seating on Ichigo's shoulder.

"I don't know why I had to come with you when I could've gone with Big Sis instead of birdbrain." The plush complained.

"Can it." Ichigo ordered. He notices the shopkeep of From Dust Til Dawn packing some crates into a small delivery truck. _He's probably delivering Dust to the guys Ironwood brought with him_ _from Atlas_, Ichigo thought. The old man struggled to put a big crate on top of the other before he lost his footing and started to fall, the crate following behind. Thanks to reflex, Ichigo dashed forward, catching the man and stopping the crate from falling on the shopkeep. "You okay?" the shopkeep nodded his head. Ichigo let's go the old man and proceeds to push crate in place. "You were lucky that I came by. You'll have something more than a few splitters." The Shopkeep nodded in agreement. Ichigo glances inside the delivery truck. "I'm actually surprised that you managed to pack everything." The Shopkeep chuckled in pride. The man waves Ichigo goodbye. "Waitwaitwait. I need to ask you something." The Shopkeep rose a brow in question. "It's more about the recent Dust robberies orchestrated by Roman Torchwick. Can you tell me everything you know about it?"

And so, the Shopkeep goes on a long rant about the incident many months ago, well mostly in grunts and Ichigo nods every now and again. After about ten minutes, the Shopkeep was finished and is ready to drive off with his delivery.

"Thank you for taking your time to tell me." Ichigo thanked. The Shopkeep grunts a 'you're welcome' before driving off.

"Ichigo, did you understand a single word he said?" Kon asked.

"Nope, not one." Ichigo said. "Let's go to the next store."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"You really didn't have to come with me… Byakuya." Uryū said to the human man. "I'm sure that you have better things to do."

"General Ironwood is aware of the situation." Byakuya said. "That is why he has assigned me for this investigation." Instead of being in his Atlesian uniform, Byakuya is wearing civilian attire consisting a beige suit, a white dress shirt, and a black ascot. He also wearing a pair of white framed sunglasses with white tinted lenses. It was strange to see the Kuchiki head without his family's hair accessory. Actually, it's strange to see him out of uniform. His Senbonzakura, a kyu-ginto, is attached to his belt.

"And you're fine with going to Club Juniors instead of going with your sister ?" Uryū asked.

"… I thought you'd want the company." Byakuya said.

"…Thank you."

"Besides, Rukia has one of those MOD with her, as does Ichigo Kurosaki. And it would be unwise to assist Renji with a White Fang-related mission."

"That's true."

They enter the club where two big, muscular men are guarding the entrance. Uryū digs into a pocket to show them the note with the skull. After a glance, one of the men said, "You may pass."

As they moved to get in, the other guard stopped them. "What about him?" he asked, referring to Byakuya.

"He's with me." Uryū said.

The guards nodded and opened the door. Uryū and Byakuya entered and make their way to a sliding door. wait as the door opened, flinching at the pop music blaring and the neon lights. After adjusting to the uncomfortable stimuli, they go over to the main bar where the club's owner, Hei Xiong, more commonly called Junior. "Excuse me?" Uryū called to man. "I'm here to see someone named 'Ohana'." He shows Junior the note.

"She's busy with a customer now. Please wait until she is finished." Junior said.

Uryū and Byakuya decides to take a seat at the bar as they wait. Uryū slides the trunk underneath the bar to keep it away from prying eyes. He takes a moment to look around. The club didn't seem too busy at this time of day. Of course, most people prefer to go out clubbing at night. Uryū really doesn't understand the appeal. He and Byakuya were then given a glass with blue liquid and lemon slices and a lemon wedge each by Junior. "Two orders of blue lagoon cocktails with vodka on the house while you wait."

"But, we didn't order any—"

"I know." Junior said, cutting Uryū off. "But _she_ did." Junior gestured at the second floor. Uryū glances up to see a young woman looking at them. She has turquoise eyes and chin-length violet hair, which is styled so only her right eye is visible, with a skull decorating it. She wears a dark top which covers her lower face, her neck, and her arms, close-fitting shorts, and knee length socks. Over this, she wears a purple, hip-length coat fastened at the front by a dark purple sash. The tops of her thighs and the middle of her torso are left exposed.

Uryū looks back at his drink. With a shrug, he takes a sip from the straw.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Weiss stares blankly at the time on her Scroll as Prof. Port goes on and on about another one of his achievements. 3:59 pm, this has got to be the longest minute she has ever experienced.

"Um, Weiss?" Jaune whispered. Scratch that. It _is_. "After our mission, wanna go to the movies? I got tickets this new Spruce Willis movie, _Try Hard: Vendetta_. And after that, maybe we can grab a bite to eat. I heard about this one eastern Vale restaurant that seems to make really good food." The school's shrill beep sounded, indicating the end of the school day.

"Okay, let's hurry back to the dorms and get ready!" Ruby declared.

"Weiss, did you hear what I said?" Jaune asked.

"No, no, and yes." Weiss answered.

Jaune looked confused for a moment before putting it together. "Oh…" Yang walks by and pats Jaune's back.

Watching it, Pyrrha sighs in sorrow. Something Nora caught on.

"Girls, I got a text from Ichigo." Ruby told her team. "We don't have a training session today."

"That's good." Yang said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That means we are free to go do our investigation."

"Right. And team TAIM is currently on a mission, so we can help." Ren said.

"Ruby, how did you respond to Ichigo's message?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, I just told him that we'll be doing a group study."

The two teams hurry back to their dorms to change and met up in Ruby's and Weiss' dorm. Instead of their usual combat attire, they wore alternate version: Ruby's Slayer, Weiss' Snowpea, Blake's Intruder, and Yang's Hunter. Even Zwei is ready, though his Chaser outfit is merely a red/yellow plaid bandanna scarf.

As for team JNPR, Jaune's clothes, called Knight, consists of a long black shirt and a pair of darker blue jeans with beige chaps and black boots. He also wears brown leather gloves and a brown cowboy hat. He wears his Original armor and belts. Nora's CottonCandy consists of pink/white varsity jacket with her emblem in white on the left breast side, a blue shirt, a black poodle skirt with a sloth patch instead of a poodle, and brown boots. Pyrrha's Spartan has her wearing her headdress, leg armor, and heels. She wears a crimson red, off-shoulder blouse with long bishop sleeves, bronze-colored underbust corset, and black trousers. Attached on the bottom-left side of the corset is her bronze plate with two red, long, billowy ribbons and a brown belt containing two pouches. On her arms are bronze-colored bracers, black gloves, and she wears a bronze-colored metallic choker with a green gem. Lastly, Ren's Tranquility has a mesh shirt with sleeves that reaches to his elbows under a green ninja-style shirt with a pink lotus design on the right side, white kung fu trousers, black gloves, and magenta eastern flats. His hair is in a braid held together with a green hairbow and around his neck is a dusty pink forehead protector with his emblem engraved on the metal.

"Okay, guys. Today's the day~" Ruby sang as she leaped off her top bunk. "Does everyone remember their roles?"

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said. Zwei barks twice at her. "And of course, you can come with us too, Zwei-wei." Yang mouths the nickname in confusion.

"Pyrrha and I are going to check out the Dust shops themselves so we could talk to any workers about their experiences, one-to-one. Right, Pyrrha?" Nora asked.

"Huh? O-Oh, yes. Yes, yes." Pyrrha said.

"Is everything okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, yes! I am~" Pyrrha's grin was so fake, it was painful.

Blake clears her throat. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

"Ren and I will go to the warehouse area to look for any clues from Roman's attack at the end of last semester." Jaune said.

"And I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Hopefully she might know anything about Roman." Yang said with confidence.

"Great! We'll meet back here around midnight to go over what we've found." Ruby said. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Nora, Yang, and Jaune exclaimed.

"Alright!" Sun Wukong exclaimed from the window.

"Sun? What are you doing here?" Blake asked.

"Oh, I was just hanging out in this tree and overheard you guys from the opened window." Sun told them, jumping into the room. "So, what are we gonna do to about getting back at that Torchwick guy."

"Um, thank you, Sun. But, we already have enough people for this investigation." Blake said.

"Pfft, come on. The more the merrier. That's why I brought Neptune." Sun said, thumbing at the window.

The goggle-wearing young man poked into the room. "'Sup."

"As well as Sage and Scarlet." Sun added, point at the door.

"Hello, everyone." Scarlet greeted.

"Good evening." Sage said.

Weiss turns to Ruby. "You didn't close the door."

"And you didn't close the window." Ruby retorted. She sighs. "Okay, slight change of plans. Sun, you're going with Blake. Scarlet, you're going with Pyrrha and Nora. Sage, you're with Jaune and Ren. And Neptune, you'll go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner."

"Uh, Ruby? Why won't you go with Yang? She is you're sister after all." Weiss said, wanting to be paired with Neptune.

"But then, who'd go with you?" Ruby said, confused.

"Well, I guess Neptune can go with me." Weiss insisted, trying to give Ruby a subtle hint. Neptune seemed to have caught on and winked at her way. Jaune noticed the exchanges and glowered grumpily.

Ruby, after a moment of silence, cracks up laughing. "Nah." Yang shook her head at her little sister's obliviousness.

Weiss, no less than unamused, struggled fruitlessly as the silver-eyed girl dragged her out of the room. "Bu-But…"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

_Pyrrha, Nora, and Scarlet…_

_Vale Outlet Mall…_

"Okay…" Pyrrha started, looking at a list of Dust shops in her Scroll. "We can try out the _Nature's Mineral_ store first and then we can check _Gaia's Jewels_."

"Do you have a thing for Jaune?" Nora blurted out. The unexpected question made Pyrrha fumble with her Scroll.

"…I don't think that was a good idea." Scarlet said as he watched Pyrrha struggling to have a firm grip back on her Scroll. It was an interesting sight, seeing the famed Pyrrha Nikos flustered.

"Eh, it got her attention." Nora said.

With both hands, Pyrrha finally caught her Scroll. "I…don't know what you are talking about…" Pyrrha said, her face still as red as her hair.

Nora scoffs. "Come on! It's sooo obvious! You are head over heels for Jaune!"

Scarlet clapped his hands together. "You are? He is quite the looker."

"Oh, you should have seen him before. He was practically a marshmallow before Pyrrha here beefed him up."

"Really?"

"I-I was helping him!" Pyrrha said. "It has nothing to do with my feelings for him."

Nora and Scarlet looked at eachother before looking at Pyrrha coyly. "Sooo, you admit that you have feelings for him, huh?"

Pyrrha's face turned redder. She swiftly turns around. "L-let's get going. We need to gather information like we're supposed to—" She collides into Ichigo just as he exited _Nature's Mineral_. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"No biggie." Ichigo said. "What's with the get up?"

Nora looks at her person. "Oh! You mean this? Just something for a day out. Heh-heh…" Nora said with a cute pose.

Ichigo raised a brow. "With your weapons?"

Nora realized her posing made her grenade launcher hammer attached to the back of her waist standout. Nora quickly straightened up. "Well…what about you?" She questioned, pointing at Zangetsu.

"Official business. Business that I need to get back to. Let's go, Kon. Kon? Kon!"

"Please. Just one hug, ma'am! You wouldn't say no to an adorable plush toy, right?" Kon asked the ample and rightfully perturbed female cashier.

Ichigo stumps back into the Dust store and grabs the plush by the head, saying, "Ignore him," to the clerk before walking back out and passed the younger three.

"Official business, huh? That just proved the fact that something _is_ going on." Nora said.

"Let's go." Pyrrha said before they entered the store.

Hiding behind a corner was Ichigo, eyeing them suspicious before walking away to his next destination.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ruby's eyes twinkled in awestruck at the Beacon Tower. "It looks so much cooler up close!"

"You should see the one in Atlas. It is a marvel to behold." Weiss said.

"That's the first one, right? The first to be created after the Great War?" Ruby asked.

"That's correct." Weiss confirmed, happy to see that Ruby has been listening to Dr. Oobleck. "It was Atlas' gift to the world after the war."

"Ooooh, I'm gonna take a picture!" Ruby declared as she took out her Scroll. However, she winds up dropping it. With a bark, Zwei goes after the bouncing device. The Scroll soon hit someone's leg, whom picks it up. Zwei skids to a halt.

"Hello, little guy." The person said, patting Zwei's head. "Excuse me. Did you drop this?"

"Penny?" Ruby realized.

Bright green eyes blinked in shock. "Um…" Ruby runs over to give her a hug.

"I was so worried! Where were you? I've been trying to call you for weeks! Were you kidnapped?"

Penny gently pries herself out of Ruby's grip. "I'm sorry. I-I think you are mistaken." She hiccups.

"What? Penny, it's me, Ruby Rose." Ruby urged.

"S-Sorry. I think you got the wrong person." Penny said, resulting in another hiccup. She hurriedly gives Ruby back her Scroll. "I've got to go!"

"Wait!" Ruby shouted, but the girl was already gone.

"What was all that about?" Weiss asked, confused by Penny's behavior as much as Ruby is.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You go make your call! I'll be back later!" Ruby said as she ran off. Zwei follows in pursuit.

"Ruby! Zwei! Come back!"

Thankfully, Penny didn't go far and Ruby was able to keep up with her. "Penny! Penny, wait! Stop!" She shouted. Ruby grabs Penny's arm to stop her. "Penny, I don't know what's going on. But you have to listen to me. Remember Roman at the docks? Me and the others think he is up to something big, something bad. Please, tell me what happened to you that night." Ruby couldn't help but remember Ichigo telling her how Uryū was once taken by the Bount Group and with the recent kidnappings lately… "Please, as a friend."

Penny hesitated at first before she sighed. She shifted her eyes side to side before whispering, "It's not safe to talk here."

Ruby's eyes widened before she smiled. Penny smiled back.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Glad to see that you are working so hard out there, Ishida." Ichigo said sarcastically, talking to Uryū via ChatView.

The Quincy was unamused. "Not funny. I don't understand why people enjoy going to these kinds of places. The lights are an epilepsy inducement waiting to happen and the music is so loud you need to scream to talk to someone." He plants his face on the bar. "I just want to get this over with so I wouldn't have to step foot in this place again."

"I second that emotion." Byakuya agreed, his voice nearly drained out by the music.

"Stay strong a little while longer. I'm done on my end, so I'll wait for you guys to be done." Ichigo said.

"Stay out of trouble." Uryū told him.

"Haven't I ever?" Ichigo asked. Uryū glared at him. "Point taken." He ends the call and puts his Scroll away. He leans on a pole as he watched General Ironwood, well projected as a hologram, do a presentation at the city square, showing off Atlas' newest robotic creations, the Atlesian Knights and Paladin. Ichigo was unimpressed at the sight. While its all well and good to have less people dying out there, having robotic droids be the next protectors give Ichigo a bad taste in his mouth. He's not a conspiracy nut, but he has doubts of the androids' capabilities.

"So cool!"

"Ruby? I thought you said you had to study."

"Dah! Ichigo! Um…ah…wewewe…weeeee are! We, uh, are doing, uh, economy!"

"With your weapon?" Kon questioned, appearing from behind Ichigo's back.

Ruby let out a nervous laugh. "…Remember Penny? Doesn't she look great today?"

"Salutations…" Penny said sheepishly. Ichigo didn't buy their attempt to change the subject. Penny noticed the Atlesian personnel at the city square spotting her. Without thinking, Penny runs off.

"Penny!" Ruby shouted. She and Ichigo look back to see the Atlesian personnel running towards them. Unaware of what is going on, Ichigo, Ruby, and Zwei take off in the same direction Penny went.

Ruby uses her Speed to catch to Penny. Ichigo on the other hand didn't want to use his Semblance.

_ **What's wrong, King? Afraid?** _

Ichigo shook his head to ignore the voice. Zwei whimpered a little, seemingly worried for the carrot top. "I'm fine." Ichigo said to the canine.

"Ichigo, look!" Kon exclaimed. They soon see that a kid had run out to the on the road to retrieve his ball in front of the delivery truck from earlier. The old Shopkeeper had little time to react as the boy practically came out of nowhere and he had the right-of-way. He stomped on the breaks, but the big automobile doesn't stop on a dime.

Ruby sees it and does a U-turn to save the boy. But she used too much of her Semblance to catch up to Penny.

"Ichigo, hurry and use your Semblance!" Kon said.

"…I…"

_ **What's the matter? Afraid that I'll stop you like before?** _

The honk from the truck brought Ichigo back to reality as the truck came closer to the boy. "NO!"

Penny pushes Ruby out of the way and stops the truck with her bare hands. "Are you okay?" She asked the driver. The Shopkeeper grunted a yes. She turns to the shaken child. "And you?" the boy nodded. Penny became frantic as more people walked over to the scene. She runs off again. Ruby went after her. Ichigo picks up Zwei and holds in the crook of his arm before he followed the girl, leaving the scene behind. Ichigo manages to keep up while Ruby was gushing over what happened.

"What's the big deal? She stopped a truck." Ichigo said. "I'm sure your sister could do the same."

"The big deal is that she didn't even use her Aura." Ruby told him.

"What?"

"Now that I come to think about it, the way your Aura flow is very different." Ruby said to Penny. "It's nothing like a Human or a Faunus or even a Quincy."

"I-I-It's nothing! *hic* I don't want to talk about it! *hic*!" Penny said.

"Penny, you can tell us what it is." Ruby said.

"We won't judge you or anything." Ichigo said. "Believe me, I had my fair shares of being judged." He gazed at the tips of his amber hair.

Penny still seemed unsure. "…You're my friend, right? You promise that you're my friend?"

"I promise." Ruby said. Ichigo nodded.

"…I'm…not a real girl." Penny revealed, showing the two Beacon students her shredded hands, seeing metal underneath the fake skin.

Ruby seemed speechless. "…I don't understand…"

"I'm…I'm the first synthetic entity capable of generating an Aura." Penny frowned woefully. "I'm not real."

Ruby gently grasped Penny's hands. "Of course, you are. You think that being made of nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts would make you any less real than me?"

"If you put it like that, then being an android is a lot better." Ichigo said.

"You're an AI like me~" Kon said, enamored.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Comparing _you_ to Penny would be an insult to the poor girl." Zwei, still in his arms, barked. Almost as if he's agreeing with Ichigo.

Penny raised a perplexed brow. "You two are taking this… extraordinarily well."

"You see this little pest? You're a breath of fresh air." Ichigo said.

"Hey!" Kon shouted.

"And you're nothing like those things General Ironwood presented back there. You have a heart _and_ a soul. I can feel it." Ruby said, placing a hand on Penny's chest.

A feeling of gladness came over Penny as she grabbed both Ruby and Ichigo and pulled them into a hug. "Oh, you guys have no idea how much those words meant to me."

"…I think I can tell…" Ichigo wheezed.

Ruby remembered something. "Wait, Penny. Remember how you told me that Oetsu Nimaiya helped make you're weapon? Did… did he…"

"Oh, no! It was someone else. Her name is Kirio Hikifune. She helped my father build me. I call her Aunt Kiki."

Ichigo whistled. "Impressive. Wait, why were those soldiers after you?"

"They wanted to protect me."

"They don't think you can't protect yourself?" Ruby asked. After seeing what the girl was capable of, why would she need any form of protection?

"They don't think I'm ready yet." Penny said.

"Ready for what?" Ichigo asked.

"General Ironwood told me that it will be my duty to save the world someday." Penny said.

Ruby looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Ichigo was confused too. He understands some of the current issues, but they're not necessarily a global problem. Save the world from what?

"I think she went this way!" They heard one of the officers say.

"You need to hide." Penny whispered.

Ichigo pans around for a hiding spot before seeing a dumpster. "Over there." He takes Ruby by her wrist and takes her over there.

"Wait. Penny, we can help you." Ruby protested as Ichigo put her in the container.

"Don't worry. I just don't want you guys to get in trouble. Just don't tell anyone about this. Promise?" Penny asked.

Ruby gives her a reassuring smile. "I promise."

"Me too." Ichigo hops in the dumpster. "And by the way." Ichigo added. Penny looks at him. "I know my Aura Sensing is nothing compared to Ruby (R: Really nonexistent), but I could tell that your more alive than you think."

Penny smiled graciously. "Thank you." Ichigo lowers down the lead, just as the Atlesian soldiers appeared. "Salutations, officers!"

"Why did you run off? What happened to the boy and girl?"

"What are you talking about? I've been by myself all day." Penny hiccups, right at the same time Zwei barked. Ruby quickly kept his mouth shut. "A-And I just wanted to go for a run." Penny hiccupped again. Ichigo smiled softly. So, she hiccups when she lies? That's… actually adorable.

One of the officers sighs. "Are you alright?"

"Just a scratch."

"Penny, your father and Aunt Kiki would not be happy with this." The officer scolded, almost like a parent would to their child. Huh. If these guys are aware of Penny's identity, they still treat her like she is a human girl instead of some machine. Ichigo felt a surge of contentment at the thought.

"Please, let's go back, Ms. Polendina."

"Of course!" They can hear footsteps walking away.

Ruby sighs in relief. "That was a close one." Her relief was short lived at the sight of Ichigo's disapproving scowl.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."


	7. Chapter 06: Tukson's Message

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

Vale Docks Warehouse Area

"You've heard about the dance coming up in a few weeks, right? I was thinking that I will finally muster up the courage to ask Weiss out." Jaune said to Ren.

"…Weiss? Are…are you sure you want to ask her, though?" Ren asked.

"What do you mean?" Jaune wondered, genuinely confused.

"Like, maybe you could ask someone else."

"Like who?"

"…Pyrrha?"

Jaune starred at him for a moment before snorting a laugh. "Yeah. Like that's gonna happen. I'm sure that Pyrrha has already had a bunch of guys running all over each other to ask her out. She won't need me in the mix. Especially since she's training me." His tone was wholehearted, no ounce of bravado in it.

"…Have you asked her?"

"I thought about it. I mean, she's helped me so much. I just don't wanna burden her with something so silly."

Ren sighs. "…If you say so."

"I'm taking a guess that this happens a lot." Sage said.

"Yes." The ninja then sensed something hostile. He sprints over to Jaune before he could turn a corner and pushes him up against a freighter. Ren covered Jaune's mouth with his hand before he could shout a question. Ren places a thin finger to his lips. "Shh…" He removes his hand and cautiously went to the corner.

"Did you sense something?" Jaune asked, readying his sword and shield. Ren nods and beckons Jaune and Sage to come closer, quietly. They do so and peered over the corner. Several yards away, they see a group of White Fang mooks in the process of loading giant robots from a warehouse and into a freighter big enough for them near three Bullheads. "The White Fang? What are they doing here? Shouldn't there be workers?" Jaune noticed an individual that stood out from the rest of the White Fang. It was a tall man, probably in his mid-20s, with auburn hair that spikes backward in a windswept way and dressed in all black, save for a white design on his back and a red rose. When the man turned around slightly, Jaune saw a more detailed WF mask and horns. Who is he? An executive of sorts? His train of thought stopped when he noticed Ren going around another freighter. "Ren!" he whispered. The ninja turns around. "Be careful."

Ren nods before disappearing around the corner. He looks around for a way inside. He checks the back door, only to see several WF soldiers on guard. He glances up to see any windows he can use. Thankfully, he sees one and there is a scaffolding nearby for him to use to get up there. He makes his way up and leaps over to the window. He peaks through the glass to see if he is in the clear. It looks like most of the commotion is at the opposite end, so he gently opens the window and goes through. He quietly lands behind a pile of crates. He climbs over some until he nearly reached the top, but remained hidden.

He sees other shipping containers that the giant robots are coming from, containers with the Atlas symbol on it. Ren takes out his Scroll and takes a video discreetly. After giving it a good 30 seconds, he stops the recording and puts it away. He takes a careful step to the side, the wooden crate caved in and Ren falls to concrete ground. Sore and a slight ringing in his ears, he's fine.

That is, until he comes face-to-face with the glossy eyes of a dead body. Ren quickly covered his mouth to prevent a shout of horror as he scurried until his back hit a wall. Eyes wide and heavy breathing muffled by his hands, the young ninja took in the carnage surrounding him. Six bodies, as far as he can tell, laid before him, frozen in early stages of rigor mortis, the ground stained rusty with dried blood. And the metallic smell that still lingered…

Flashes of memories came to mind… A flaming village… People screaming… A hellish screech… The house collapsing on mother…

Ren can feel his Semblance calming him a little. He removes his hands as he let out a small, shuddered breath.

"Who's there?" a WF soldier shouted. Through quick reflexes, Ren leaps to the other side just as a light shined where he was. Ren stayed still as the light moved. Soon, the light turned off. He slowly took hold of one of his StormFlower guns attach to his hip, his index finger hovered over the trigger.

He leaps into attack as machinegun bullets shredded through the wooden crates and into the dead bodies, causing whatever blood left in them to spurt out. Ren nimbly leaped around as he shoots at the attacking WF mooks. Not to kill, but to incapacitate. His barrage of attacks was halted by a pressure slash hitting his path. Again, he falls to the ground. Several WF mooks surrounded him, aiming their guns. Ren looks up as footsteps slowly came over to him. The mooks moved aside as the auburn-haired man appeared.

"I thought I smelled a filthy human." The man hissed, his tone dripping with venom. Ren tries to reach for his guns again, but the man unsheathed his red blade and aim it in his face. The tip of the katana lightly grazed his cheek. "Don't even think about it. Now, get up." Ren complied, raising his hands up as he got to his feet. "Good boy." The man said, speaking as though he is talking to a dog. He circles around Ren, his sword still aimed at his throat. "I'm curious to know what your business is here. Are you with the Neo White Fang or the Animal Farm?" Animal Farm is basically a human version of the White Fang. "… or maybe…" the man inched closer to Ren, his sword grazing on the skin on Ren's neck, beads of blood started to emerge. He stopped until his face was inches away from Ren's "… you're acquainted with Blake Belladonna." He said in Ren's ear.

Soft pink eyes widen. This man knows Blake. He needs to get out, now! He thrusts a palm strike at the man's sword arm and runs away. The WF gunmen starts shooting at him. Ren throws one of his guns like a boomerang at a hanging freighter, cutting the ropes and causing it to fall. The gunmen scattered to avoid being crushed. Ren catches his gun in time as the bull Faunus slashes at him with his sword. Ren blocks the attacks with the blades of his guns before he had the chance to shoot him. The bull Faunus dodges the shots and returns them with his own. Ren hides behind a crate. The Faunus man huffs. "What's wrong? Had enough?" He slashes at the crate, cutting it in a diagonal half. The top half slides away, revealing nothing behind.

The bull Faunus whips around in time as Ren came at him, his palm charged with Aura Pressure. His hand makes contact with the man's red blade, a shockwave of Aura bellowed out upon impact. Several WF soldiers were knocked to the ground by the force. To Ren's shock, the blade, along with the red on the man's person glowed. The bull Faunus smirked as he sheathed his sword and said, "Nice try." Before delivering a hard kick on Ren's midsection, sending him flying into the fallen container from before. The ninja hit it, back first, leaving a sizable dent, and coughed up a little bit of blood. He collapses on the ground, wrapping his arm around his torso as he coughed, the wind knocked out of him. "That was a nifty trick, I'll admit." He heard the man say. He looks up to see the bull Faunus still glowing red. "And I thought only Quincys can manipulate their Aura like that. But, I had enough." He firmly grasped the hilt of Wilt. "It's time to end this." The Faunus releases a blood-red Aura Pressure and an agonizing fear overwhelms Ren. Normally, his Semblance would've calmed him down, but this Aura Pressure… He could feel this man's intent to kill and it was staggering. The ninja did his hardest not to vomit bile from the intensity.

Ren's life flashed before his eyes. From his first, real family to his new one in team JNPR and team RWBY. Him cooking, Jaune talking, Ruby playing, Yang joking, Pyrrha laughing, Blake reading, Weiss berating, and Nora… Oh, Nora… What will happen to her if he dies here? He then thought about teams IURR and TAIM.

In a swift movement, the man unleashed a powerful vertical wave of Aura Pressure, powerful enough to break through Ren's remaining Aura and kill him. Ren clinched his eyes shut, waiting for the lethal blow.

The container behind him was slashed in two.

.

.

.

Ren cautiously opened his eyes and sees white light. But it wasn't the white light of heaven.

It was Jaune's Aura. The tall young man stood in front of the ninja, his shield at the ready. It took a moment for Ren to realize that his leader was able to block the fatal strike. "J-Jaune…?" Ren muttered. Even the bull Faunus was in disbelief.

Jaune sighed as his Aura flickered and flashed Ren a grin. "I thought I told you to be careful." Ren let out a chuckle, though it hurt his sore ribs.

The White Fang soldiers on the other hand started talking among themselves.

"Did…you see that?"

"Did a lowly human block Brother Adam's Moonslice?"

"Unbelievable…"

"He must have one hell of an Aura Pressure. Probably greater than Brother Adam's..."

"Enough!" Adam shouted, his voice echoed through the warehouse. He points his sword at Jaune's and Ren's direction. "Don't think that either of you will be coming out of this alive."

"You sure about that?" Sage said from the entrance, where unconscious WF members lay. "To bad for you, I called the Atlesian personnel. They are coming as we speak."

The proclamation made the present WF soldiers murmur in worry. Adam gritted his teeth. "Tch." He slides his sword into its scabbard. "We got what we need. Move out!" The soldiers moved at the order, running over to the Bullheads outside. As soon as he neared the Bullheads, Adam turned a hateful sneer at the three human males. With a growl, he runs to the Bullheads. The three machines take off, taking their cargo with them.

Seeing the danger gone, Sage walks over to Jaune, who is helping Ren to his feet. "Did you really call the Atlas soldiers?" Jaune asked.

Sage shook his head. "It was a bluff. A bluff that saved your skins."

"Yeah. Thanks for that. Let's get out of here too." They go to move, but Ren let out a pained whimper. "Ren?" Jaune said, having a firm and gentle grip on his friend.

Sage gently probs Ren's ribs, earning indignant hiss. "We should call someone. It might be serious." The older male said as he gingerly guided Ren back to the ground.

"R-Right." Jaune said as he takes out a Scroll to call the nurse's office. As he waited for someone to pick up, he wished that he could develop at least a heal-based Semblance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Uryū taps his slim finger on the bar table impatiently. He's been at this horrid club for nearly two hours and his patience is waning. The two glasses of blue lagoon cocktails did little to calm to his nerves. He glances over to Byakuya, who is drinking a glass of tea, given that he disliked the taste of the cocktail and gave it to Uryū.

The Quincy starts to rub his temples as he can feel a headache in the making. "At your wit's end?" Byakuya questioned.

Uryū breathes out through his nose. "If we're going to have to spend time here for another five minutes, I'm going to—" A tap on his shoulder ended his rant. The men turned to see the petite girl from before.

"I believe that this 'Ohana' is ready for us?" Byakuya asked. The girl nods and beckons the two to go with her. They follow her up a flight of stairs and down a long corridor, the club's music is muffled. As they were getting closer to the room at the end of the hall, they could smell incenses. Byakuya removes his sunglasses and puts them in his suit pocket.

The Mistralian-styled room was dimmed with a low light from scented candles and tatami doors to another room. The girl moves to the door and sits down on her knees and slides the door open. "Are they here?" a woman asked. The girl nods. "Then, please let them in." the girl nods again before turning to the men and gestures them to enter. When they did, the girl closes the door behind them. "Welcome." The woman is seating at a low table, smoking from a cigarette holder. She is violet-haired with a red ribbon around her neck and a black eye patch covering her right eye. Her left eye is turquoise, and her hair is worn in two corkscrew pigtails with bangs framing her face. She wears an indigo cape with an imprint of a large skull and two blades on it, and a long, dark dress with a significantly low-cut neckline, exposing her large breasts. She wears a golden bone headdress. "Please excuse my daughter, Hanako. She's a shy one. Please, have a seat. Oh, and don't forget to take off your shoes first."

Uryū and Byakuya did so, seating across from her. "I take it that you are Ohana." Uryū asked.

"Yes, I am." Ohana answered. "And you are Beacon Academy's Prince of Light, Uryū Ishida. Quite the heartthrob I hear."

Uryū blinks. "…I am?" He blushes when Ohana started giggling behind her sleeve. Uryū pushes up his glasses. "Ma'am, is there a reason for me being here?"

"Indeed, there is." Ohana said. She gets up her feet, her robes rustling as she strode the wall behind her. There is a keyhole. She pulls a key from between her cleavage and inserts it in before turning it. A hidden compartment opens, and she reaches in and pulls out a shopping bag. Uryū recognized the logo.

"Tukson's Book Trade?"

Ohana sits back down after placing the bag on the table. "He came to me the day before yesterday and gave this to me, telling me to give this to the Prinz von Licht." She said. "Good thing I know a little bit of Deutsch, though I'm not fluent."

Uryū reaches into the bag and pulls out the Eventide: Shattered Morn novel. Shock overcame him as he picked up one book after the other. The Coming Frost, Asylum, Scorned Thrasher, Tryst in the Mist, the Hero High manga collection, and much more…

"…These are the books I ordered." Uryū muttered as he stared at the Witch's Lament novel in his hands.

"Yes. He seemed quite anxious when he delivered this to me." Ohana said, tapping her cigarette holder on an ashtray. "He looked as though a Geist was after him."

Uryū's grip on the book tightened, his eyes hidden by his glasses and long bangs. Byakuya glances at him with little expression. Though, there is a part of him that wanted to comfort the Quincy in some way. But, unfortunately, not right now. They have a job to do. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything at all?" he asked Ohana. The woman only grinned. Getting the message, Byakuya rolled over the trunk they brought in. He unhooked the lid and lifts it up. Inside were medical supplies. Fresh and clean rolls of gauze and bandages, antibiotics, medicinal alcohol, some emergency blankets, various medications, disinfectant wipes and sprays, and other things. "Would this suffice?"

"Greatly." Ohana smiled. She picks up a bottle. "My husband has informed me about some of the villages under Grimm attacks in Anima. Given how things are now outside of the Kingdoms, the agents of the IMG are spread thin. Hopefully, this will ease at least one village. Maybe two." She puts the bottle back. "Now, as for information about Tukson, all I can say is that he was a member of the White Fang."

"Is that right." Byakuya said.

"His place of work was also used as a meeting place for the Vale branch of the White Fang." Ohana told him.

"So, what you are saying is that the White Fang was attempting to silence him?" Byakuya asked.

"You're guess is as good as mine, colonel." Ohana said with a smile.

Uryū put down the Witch's Lament and reaches down into the bag again, pulling out the last book, titled Viral Bullet. A book he didn't recognized. "I don't remember ordering this…"

"Oooo, I've read this before." Ohana said. "Wait until the resolution, there's quite a cliffhanger."

The young Quincy stares at the book intensely, until the club's music started to skip annoyingly. "I wish that music will stop." Not a second later, the music did indeed stop.

"…I wonder…" Ohana said, tapping her cigarette holder on her chin. Hanako comes in and whispers something in her mother's ear. "Oh, so it's her? Well, it's been a long time since I last seen her." Ohana gets up back to her feet. "Might as well see her again. I adore her spunk."

Uryū stared at her curiously before sensing the new arrival. "You've got to be kidding me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What do you mean 'I can't see her'?!" Yang shouted at Junior.

"Exactly what it is! She's currently with a client right now. You'll have to wait." Junior told her, agitated. Neptune meanwhile glances at them nervously. When he noticed Yang's eyes turning red, literally, he cautiously places his hands on her shoulders.

"H-Hey, why don't we just calm down and—"

"I thought I heard someone familiar." Ohana said. Yang sees her and her eyes change back into their lilac color.

"Oh, there you are! Hey, I need to ask you about—"

"What, Ms. Xiao Long?" Uryū asked, appearing from behind from behind the woman with the the books inside in of his tote bag.

"O-Oh… Hey there, Angelface. What are you doing here?" Yang asked.

"I could be asking you the same thing." Uryū said as he walked up to the blonde girl. Byakuya follows him.

"And I do believe that you are underage to be here." Byakuya told her. His cool, grey eyes moved to Junior. "I thought you don't serve minors in this establishment. I could easily have this place shutdown because that."

"You try and get in this chick's way." Junior's balls still ache from last time.

Yang glances at Uryū and Byakuya back and forth before asking coyly and suggestively, "Are you two on a date?"

Uryū's face turn a beet red. "A d—No! N-No, we are—" He sputtered before taking a deep breath to compose himself. He turns serious again. "Do not change the subject. Now, I'll ask you and you better answer me: What are you doing here?" When Yang continued to avoid the question, Uryū says, "Let's go." He takes Yang by the arm and leads her out.

"Hey, where are you taking me?"

"Out of here and back to Beacon. And maybe to the headmaster's office."

"But…but…"

Byakuya and Neptune watched them go. "Sooo, nice day, huh?" Neptune asked self-consciously to Byakuya. The older man barely gave him a sidewise glance before walking away. "…okay. That's cool." He said awkwardly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Have you found anything, Rukia?" Lirin asked, flying to the girl's shoulder. The two are in the archives room, a dimly lit room with monitors and buttons. Rukia is in front of one of said monitors, reading off the screen.

"Hmm… According to this, a shipment of Atlas tech was absconded about a week ago." Rukia said.

"Is there anything else?" the MOD AI asked.

"There is, but that's confidential. I'd have to be the head of the Kuchiki family to have access to that information." Rukia explained.

"Should we call your brother?"

Rukia shook her head. "…No." She turns the monitor off and goes to leave the archives room. "While Brother is indeed the current head of the family, he is only the figurehead."

"What does that mean?"

Rukia runs into Weiss on her way out. "Oh, hey Weiss. What are…you…up to?" Rukia asked, taking in Weiss' garments.

"…Nothing. I'm just here to check on things back at home." Weiss lied. "I am the heiress after all."

"With your weapon?" Lirin asked.

Light blue eyes flickered to her Myrtenaster at her hip. Weiss giggled nervously. Rukia didn't find it funny. "What are you up to, young lady?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A yawn escapes from Renji as he listens to the White Fang lieutenant spout off some nonsense about liberation or something. In an effort to prevent the Faunus from seeing him recording, he has the organization's mask on over his goggles as he recorded what is going on. Eventually, Roman appears on the stage, accompanied by a petite woman that could give Rukia a run for her money. After a rousing speech, Roman unfurls a sheet behind him, revealing the Atlesian Paladin with the Atlas insignia painted over by the current White Fang's own.

"Thaaat's a bad sign." Renji muttered.

"Will all new recruits please come forward!" the lieutenant prompted.

Renji deactivates his goggles. Got what I needed. Time to-huh? Renji noticed a pair of Faunus that look familiar. Very familiar. As he inched closer to the pair, he knew who they were. You've gotta be shittin' me… As soon as he reached the two, he grabbed them by the shoulders.

Blake's hand flew to the hilt of Gambol Shroud and Sun reached for his gunchuks in his open shirt. "Who are you?" Renji lifts his mask, revealing his sharp eyes and distinctive eyebrows. "R-Renji? Why are you here?"

"I could ask the same thing." Renji hissed in a whisper. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What about you?" Blake whispered.

"I'm here to gather information." Renji said. "So, what the fuck are you doing?"

"Uh, guys? He sees us." Sun informed. And he was right, Roman was looking straight at them, his eyes screaming recognition.

"He can't see in the dark." Blake said before shooting at a circuit breaker, causing the lights to go out.

"After them!" Roman exclaimed in the darkness.

"To the window, now!" Renji shouted.

The three smashes through the glass window, ditching the WF masks, and go into a run on top of the buildings. Roman, now piloting the Atlesian Paladin, breaks through the wall to go after them.

"You two…have…a lot of…explaining…to do!" Renji said with each jump.

"I know! But that'll have to wait!" Blake said.

"I think now is a good time to call for backup!" Sun said.

"On it!"

They kept running until they reached the highway area, Roman not too far behind. Renji lands on the top of a car, startling the driver. He peers over to see the poor man. "My bad." Renji looks up to see the Paladin charging. He turns back to the driver. "You might wanna avoid the middle of the road." He said to the poor man before leaping to another vehicle to tell them something similar. The driver looks at his rearview mirror to see the giant mech. He yelps in fright before swerving to the side of the highway road and stopping, thankfully out of the machine's way. He gets out of the car to see other vehicles on the sides like he is. A yellow/black motorcycle drives by, driven by Yang with Neptune seating behind her. The man then looks up to see something white and bright fly by.

It was Uryū riding on a platform of light made from his Semblance. Riding with him is Byakuya. When cars started to go flying because of Roman, Uryū readies his bow and releases Light Arrows to catch the cars and place them back on the highway and out of harms way. Byakuya takes out his sword from its scabbard. The blade turns a bright pink before breaking down into many shards, like a swarm of cherry blossom petals. The colonel wills the shards into a swarm at the Paladin, attempting to stop it. When it didn't work, he takes his scabbard and connects the bladeless hilt back to it before it morphs into a tanegashima musket and starts to fire at the machine, pink shards swirled around the bullets. Incredibly, the Paladin was merely scratched. Then, Weiss and Rukia appear, creating a sheet of ice to make the Paladin slip and fall off the highway and down to the ground below.

"You go on ahead. I'll stay to check on the citizens." Byakuya said to Uryū.

"Right." Uryū nodded. The moment the Quincy cancels the platform, they leap off, Byakuya to the main road and Uryū to the lower level where the others are.

"What the hell is going on!?" Ichigo questioned when he arrived.

"We'll question them later, Ichigo." Rukia said. She turns her attention to the current issue. "For right now, we have this to worry about."

Roman unleashes a volley of missiles at teams RWBY and IURR. They move out of the way and Weiss uses her Time Dilation on Blake to make her faster. Blake sends out air slices at the second volley of missiles, destroying them.

"Ichigo! Black Rose!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What?" Ichigo asked, looking at the girl as though she has grown another head.

"Just follow my lead!" Ruby said, charging at the mech. Ichigo had no choice but to follow. Ruby started to make circling slashes the mech's legs and Ichigo does the same, mirroring Ruby. Roman commands the mecha to throw a punch at the ground, causing a shockwave to blow the two away. "Star Dust!" Ruby exclaimed as she flew passed Weiss and Uryū.

"I guess that's us!" Weiss said to him. Uryū pulls back his Aura bowstring, ready to release Aura arrows. When he did, Weiss creates and tethers miniature Glyphs to the arrows. The Glyphs assisted the arrows to control their paths and dodged the mech's attempts to destroy them, hitting their mark. Inside, Roman is growing frustrated.

"Ladybug!" Ruby exclaimed before she and Blake start to attack. Yang leaps on the to the mech and processed to punch it with her shotgun gauntlets. Having enough, Roman controls the Paladin to ram Yang into a stone pillar before giving her a right hook, smashing her through it. While that did cause some damage to Yang's Aura, it had also charged her Semblance. Her eyes and hair glowed their red and yellow colors respectively as she returns the favor to the Atlesian tech, with some assistances of their team attacks of Ice Flower and Bumblebee. Soon, the Atlesian Paladin was smashed into smithereens, leaving Roman vulnerable.

"Great. And I just got this clean." Roman complained, seeing some dirt on his clothes. With a shout, Ichigo charges at him, ready to catch him. However, his attempt was bounced back by a parasol using Hard-Light Dust.

"Who the…?" Ichigo muttered.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and Ice Queen." Roman said, earning a 'hey' from said Ice Queen. "It's been fun. Neo, if you would." The petite woman makes a bow.

Neo? Uryū wondered.

Ichigo sees Yang dashing at them, still in her red haze. "Yang, wait!" The girl didn't listen and punches at the smirking heterochromia woman, only for her and Roman's image to shatter like glass. The real duo is then seen fleeing in a Bullhead. Uryū was about to ready another arrow, but the career criminal and his partner was already gone.

"That looked like the girl that was with him during the meeting." Blake said. Renji appears at the scene after assisting Byakuya with the people above.

"I guess the rumors about Roman having an accomplice where true." Weiss said.

"Well, despite some hiccups, we did good today." Ruby said.

"Heh, yeah! Up top—Ohhh…" Yang raised her arm for a high five, but she noticed how furious team IURR was at them.

"Uh…Okay, I know that this doesn't look good, but we have a reasonable explanation for this." Ruby said to their mentors. Their expression remained the same. Uryū crossed his arms and Rukia has her fists on her hips. "…Uhhh, at least we have an inkling about what Roman is up to, right?" Again, team IURR remained livid. "…We're in trouble, aren't we?"


	8. Chapter 07: Mountain Glenn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

/Well, well, Ozpin./ Councilman Rouge sneered. /Look what good your program had brought./ Ozpin resisted the urged to rub his temples.

"Isn't it rather early for this sort of conversation?" Ozpin asked the man on the other side of the call, audio only.

/Are you trying to avoid it?/ Rouge asked.

"Not at all." Ozpin said. "However, I believe that now isn't a good time to be high strung." Glynda hands him the coffee pot filled with freshly brewed coffee. "Especially since I haven't had my coffee yet."

/Ozpin, take this seriously!/ Rouge scolded.

"I am." Ozpin said calmly, taking a sip from his mug.

/You do realize your students nearly caused a catastrophic incident last night, right?/

"And no one died. Shaken, but otherwise unharmed." Ozpin pointed out.

/That's right. Thanks to Colonel Kuchiki./ Rouge grew quiet for a moment before speaking again. /Something troubling was brought to me rather recently. It involves one of your students: Ichigo Kurosaki./

"Oh?" Ozpin wondered, feigning curiosity. Glynda only stood beside him quietly.

/There had been sightings of strange and violent behavior from him up until last semester. In fact, there had been similar periods during his tenure at Beacon and just as quickly they started, they end./

"That isn't anything unusual." Ozpin said. "There have been students from outside the Kingdoms that are… deeply affected by our dark world."

The head councilman let out an exasperated sigh. /And you're telling me you let them just roam around within the city without supervision? Who knows what could happen?/

A tranquil fury stirs up in Ozpin. "I don't appreciate how you are demonizing the students. _My_ students."

/…We'll continue this talk later, Ozpin./ And with that, Rouge ended the transmission.

Ozpin sighs rather tiredly. "He really loves to have the last word." Then, another call was coming through. Dreading it was Rouge, _again_, Ozpin glanced up.

Qrow Branwen.

Never before was Ozpin ever so quick to press the answer button. "Yes, Qrow?"

/Hey, Oz./ Came the gruff, if maybe a little tipsy, voice. /Came to report from Lopt./

"Of course." Ozpin said. "Did you find anything?"

/The Gleipnir seal appeared for a moment last night./ Qrow said.

Glynda gasped and looks at Ozpin. The man looked serious. "Did anything else happen?"

/No, thankfully./ Qrow said. /The Order officials here seem bothered about it, but said there was nothing to worry for the time being./

The answer somewhat relieved Ozpin. Somewhat. "As long as it's holding out strong. Still, I'll have to speak with Seth von Johann about this."

/Yeah. Catch you later, Oz./

"Be safe."

/You too./ Qrow ends the call.

"Prof. Ozpin, is there anything we can do about the Gleipnir seal?" Glynda asked.

"The best course of action would be to renew it." Ozpin said. "However, that's impossible now."

"Why?" Glynda asked.

"Because the person who created the Gleipnir seals died seven years ago."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

There was a heavy silence in the living room of 1-A. The RWBY girls sat in silence on the couch and Ichigo sat on the coffee table before them, his arms resting on his knees by his elbows and his fingers were interlocked. Uryū, Renji, and Rukia stood behind their leader on the other side of the table. The ticking of clock was the only sound.

"Um, Ichigo, I—" Ruby spoke up, but quieted when Ichigo raised his hand.

"…You _lied_ to me." Ichigo started. "You lied and went gung-ho into a situation none of you were—"

"What about you guys? You were doing it too!" Yang retorted.

"We had _permission_!" Ichigo told her. "By Ozpin, by Ironwood!"

"But we helped."

"And jeopardized the mission and nearly caused a fatal outcome." Ichigo said. He takes in breath and releases it. "What happened last night was under the jurisdiction of the VPD and the higher ups of the council and Beacon Academy and it had to be handled orderly. That mission was not something for first years to take on." He looks at Blake. "I get it, it involved the White Fang. Whatever the hell they are doing surely isn't good. But, let the more experienced people handle it." Ichigo glances at the clock to see the time and gets up to his feet. "Classes are about start. You four better get going. I mean it." With all of that said, he gets up and leaves.

"But, we—" Ruby started.

"I think it is best that you four think over the repercussions of your actions." Uryū said before leaving too, as well as Renji and Rukia, leaving team RWBY with their thoughts.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Ichigo, are you doing okay?" Rukia asked as they head over to their dorm before heading to class.

"…Should I be?"

"No. No, I guess not." Rukia said. "I'm surprised to see you act like that."

"Really?"

"You weren't the most cooperative individual during our early years here, Kurosaki." Uryū said. "While I was impressed, I was also concerned." His tone lacked the patronization.

"Well…things change." Ichigo said. They make their way to their respective rooms. Uryū and Rukia go into their dorm to gather their things. As they did, Uryū comes across the books given to him by Ohana. He puts his textbooks down so he could look over them. Given the circumstances, he'll have to wait before he'll give the girls the books. Soon, he comes across _Viral Bullet_, a book he didn't order but Tukson thought he would be interested in it…

Tukson…

Uryū turns the book around to read the summary.

_Rurik is a rookie, freshly out of the police academy and assigned to veteran, Danny. As the two struggles to work together, they uncover a mystery surrounding an odd virus called the K-virus circulating in the black market and linked it to a series of cold cases. What is the K-virus and who is manufacturing it?_

Uryū smiled watery. A crime/mystery novel, a favorite genre of his. He remembers back when he first met Tukson. The Quincy was trying to find a place to work, but all the ones he asked for turned him away because of his heritage. Eventually, two men agreed to sit him up for a workplace where he could earn a lot of money. Desperate for money for food and bills, Uryū said yes. When he went to the establishment, imagine his horror when he realized what kind of place it was. Thankfully, before the men tried to force him in, Tukson called out to him, pretending that he was an old friend of Uryū's and takes him away. As a thank you, Uryū begun to work at the bookstore.

Saddened by the memory, Uryū places the book back down and retrieves his textbooks.

"_Wait until the resolution, there's quite a cliffhanger."_

"Resolution…" By storytelling definition, it is the book wrapping up the story. Sometimes, there may be a plot point introduced to pave the way for a sequel. Another definition is a solution. Curious, Uryū puts down his textbooks and opens the novel. He skims through the pages until a passage caught his attention.

'_Rurik looks at the novel curiously. Why would Danny leave this? The young man remembered what the veteran said and opens the tome. To his surprise, a portion of pages were cutout and there was a vial inside the secret compartment.'_

Secret compartment… If that's possible, where would it be? He checks the hard front and back. On the back cover, he notices a square-shaped indentation on the inside of the back. He digs through his sewing basket to find one of his needles. He gets one and carefully traces a cut around the indented area.

Rukia returns to the room. "Uryū, are you—what are you doing?" From the indentation, Uryū pulls out an SD card. He glances at Rukia. Without a word being spoken, Rukia left to get Ichigo and Renji. Uryū pulls out his Scrollbook and turns it on. He inserts the SD card and starts to type. Rukia returns with the other two. "Do you have it set up yet?"

"Almost. Turn off the light." Uryū ordered. Renji did so, turning the room light off and closing the door. Uryū enlarges the screen and plays a video on the SD card. After a few seconds, Tukson appeared, setting up the camera. When he finished, he sits back.

He clears his throat. /Hello, IURR./ The team was taken aback. /If you are getting this message, it means one or two things. Either A) I'm no longer in Vale…or B) I have been killed./ He pauses for a moment. /I'm sure that by now, you've learned that I was a member of the White Fang. I'm sorry, Uryū. I'm sorry that I had never told you. I just didn't want you to get wrapped up in anything. You're a good kid./ Uryū looks down to the ground, seemingly in shame. Renji pats his shoulder in comfort. Ichigo looks at his partner sympathetically before turning back to the recording when Tukson continued. /Lately… the White Fang has been becoming more fanatical. Of course, that has been apparent for the past five years since Sienna Khan came into power. But this… something big is going on. Much bigger than we could ever comprehend…All we ever wanted was equality, acceptance… Please… _Please_, stop my brothers and sisters. I don't care how, but…Please…/ Tukson's pleading image goes away is replaced by a series of schematics. The team look through the various diagrams and blueprints.

"What is all this?" Uryū wondered. Ichigo thought the same thing, looking at a diagram of some locomotive.

"Hey, guys. You might wanna take a look at this." Renji said as he pulls up a screen and show it to them.

"Is-Is that a bomb?" Rukia asked.

"We need to show this to Oz." Ichigo said. Forgoing attending their classes, team IURR hurried to Ozpin's office with the Scrollbook in hand. Inside awaited Ozpin and General Ironwood. "Old man Oz!"

"Mr. Kurosaki, shouldn't you and your team be in class?" Ironwood asked, taking note of their uniform.

"Please, pardon us, General Ironwood." Rukia said. "But you guys need to take a look at this!" She motions Uryū to put the Scrollbook on Ozpin's desk and turns it on, showing the schematics. As Ozpin and Ironwood read through them, their respective expressions turned to calculated and apprehension.

"This is… This could cause a citywide panic." Ironwood said.

"Enough to attract a Grimm invasion." Ozpin said. As well as another issue with the Gleipnir seal.

"That settles it. I will send men to Mountain Glenn—"

"I think it would be wise to tackle this discreetly." Ozpin advised sagely.

"But, Ozpin…"

"Tell me, General, would you send out flag bearers or scouts?" Ironwood grew quiet from the question, casting his eyes away in defeat. With a faint smile, Ozpin rose from his chair. "I'll make contact with Qrow, as Lopt is a fair distance away from Mt. Glenn. Then, there is the matter of finding a suitable team to rendezvous with him…" The metaphorical lightbulb lit up in his head. "Why don't you four take this mission?"

Team IURR's collective jaws dropped in shock, as did Ironwood's. "…Are you sure about that, Oz?" Ichigo spoke up. "After what happened last night and…"

"I don't see why not." Ozpin said. "You and your team has grown since the Bount case."

After mental debating, Ichigo sighed. "…We'll do it." Rukia, Uryū, and Renji stared at their leader before glancing at eachother.

Ozpin smiled. "Good to hear."

"Ozpin, is that really a good idea?" Ironwood asked, concerned.

"And why wouldn't it? It's better than looking aimlessly for available Huntsmen in the area. Who knows how long that would take? Time is of the essence, James. Now, there is a matter for more."

"Actually, we do have a team in mind." Rukia said.

Ozpin grinned. "Oh? And who would that be?"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"I hate you." Keigo said to Ichigo. "You know that, right?"

"Duly noted." Ichigo responded.

"We were just on our way back to Beacon from a boring mission and you just had to call us." Keigo continued.

"Poor you." Mizuiro said dryly as he strode by.

Ichigo felt his Scroll buzz in his pocket. He looks at it to see a text from Ruby.

_We're sorry! T.T_

Ichigo ignores it and turns off vibrate on his Scroll and leaves it silent.

_**Aren't you being a little harsh? **_, the voice said sardonically. Ichigo ignores it too.

"Kurosaki…" Uryū spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you wanted to do this?" Uryū asked.

"We wouldn't be here if I wasn't, right?" Ichigo countered. Uryū didn't answer, but Ichigo can sense the Quincy's worry. But for who or what, he doesn't know?

"Where's the Huntsman we were supposed to meet with?" Tatsuki asked Ichigo.

"He should be around here somewhere. Let's take a look around." Ichigo said.

Teams IURR and TAIM were just dropped off in a clearing away from Mt. Glenn and are now heading their way over. They reach a cliffside, overlooking the defunct settlement.

"So, that's Mt. Glenn." Lirin said, perched on Uryū's shoulder.

"You could almost feel the sadness in the air." Orihime lamented.

Uryū pushes up his glasses. "The city was built to house over 8,000 people, including various households, apartments, and businesses such as Merlot Industries. It even had an underground metro system to commune with the main city to bypass the dangers of Grimm. It was fine, for a spell."

"Unfortunately, the city didn't have the natural barriers that Vale and Lopt has. It wasn't long until the Grimm started to take over in vast numbers." Mizuiro added. "The remaining people took refuge into the underground system…"

"…Only for them to get finished off by subterranean Grimm." Ichigo finished.

"And thus, 20 years later, Mountain Glenn is still the world's largest tomb." A gruff man said. The students turn to see a man in gray sauntering to them in a way that that reminds them of the man's namesake.

"You must be Qrow Branwen." Rukia said.

"That's right." Qrow confirmed, before taking a swig of alcohol. "And you lot must be the star students I've been hearing about."

"Well, I wouldn't say star." Keigo said sheepishly.

"He's talking about team IURR, Mr. Asano." Mizuiro said.

"Would you stop with the 'Mr. Asano' crap?!"

"You've heard of us?" Ichigo asked.

"Here and there. I've heard more from my nieces." Qrow said.

"Nieces? Oh, you mean Ruby and Yang?" Ichigo asked. "I remember Ruby mentioning an uncle."

"That's right." Qrow said. "Now, let's get going."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The main street is barren, which is to be expected of an abandoned city. It was an eerie sight. The group walked past a playground, complete with a moss-covered swing set, a half-broken seesaw, a rusted jungle gym, a vine-infested merry-go-round, several bleached spring riders, and a playhouse or two with a tattered Vale flag. There's even an abandoned tricycle and some toys to add to the already gloomy scene. The area had faded color due to years of exposure, becoming as dull as the rest of the city.

"It's so quiet here." Orihime commented. "And the air feels heavy, too."

Uryū looks around at the ruined road before gazing at the sky. He can also feel the dense atmosphere. "Strong emotions tend to stay, even after people are long gone."

Keigo starts to pick his nose with his pinky out of boredom. "I really don't get it." Tatsuki resisted the urge to punch him.

"I wonder where we should start first." Ichigo said. Mizuiro turns on his headset and holographic screens appeared.

"I'd say we try to find a way into the underground. There's supposed to be a tunnel that leads to the main city from here before it was sealed off. If these plans are still in operation, then they'll likely use the tunnel and railway to lead the Grimm into the city." Mizuiro said.

"Lirin, use your radar/sonar thing to find anything." Ichigo said.

The artificial cockatiel huffed. "You know, you could've asked nicely. But I guess that's a part of your charm." Her crest raises up as she activates her function. "Give me a minute. With these buildings, it may take a while."

"That's handy." Qrow said. "Let me guess, you got that from Kisuke, right?"

"As in Kisuke Urahara? You know him?" Ichigo asked.

"Ah, well, he's an old friend of mine."

"I've found what looks to be entrance ways into the underground metro system." Lirin informed them. "There's one a mile northeast from here, another a mile and a half in the west, and the last one is just south down there." She points her wing to the various directions.

"Can you send us the coordinates?" Renji asked.

"Of course." Lirin answered before sending the information to their Scrolls.

Ichigo starts to count on his fingers and thumbs. "I think it's best that we split into three groups of three."

"Then how about I team up with Rukia and Orihime?" Keigo decided zipping over to the two girls. "How about it, ladies?" Tatsuki shoves him away.

"Nice try, Casanova. If anybody is gonna team up with them, it's gonna be me so perverts like you stay away."

"So mean!"

"Then can I go?" Kon asked.

"Hell no!" Tatsuki exclaimed. "You're a pervert too!"

"If you two don't mind, I'll tagalong with the two ya." Qrow said to Ichigo and Uryū.

"Sure. I don't see a problem." Ichigo said.

"Then that just leaves Renji, me, and Mr. Asano." Mizuiro said.

"Let's go, Mr. Asano." Renji said, coyly.

"Why is everyone bullying me?!" Keigo cried.

"Do you want to go with the girls, Lirin?" Uryū asked the cockatiel on his shoulder.

"I'd rather go with you guys." She told him.

"That settles it then. Team A (Tatsuki, Rukia, and Orihime) will go to the northeast entrance, team B (Mizuiro, Renji, and Keigo) will go to the one in the west, and team C (Ichigo, Uryū, and Qrow plus Kon and Lirin) will head south." Ichigo said.

"Keep in mind: Once we enter the underground, comm signals will be going offline." Uryū informed.

"Any objections? Then let's go."

"Right!" everyone said before going to their assigned location.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Are you feeling okay, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked.

"…I will be." The girl said. Her grip on her staff, Shun Shun Rikka, is tight. "It has happened before, right?"

"That's true." Tatsuki said.

"I wonder if Ishida-kun could sense it too…" Orihime commented.

"No doubt. As a Quincy, he was born with a higher than average Aura Sense." Rukia said.

After some time, they found what they are looking for. It looked like an entrance to a subway station. Tatsuki gets to work to remove the debris blocking the way. As she did, a flock of Baby Nevermores sprung out.

"Gah! Damn it!" Tatsuki cursed as she tries to punch the Avian Grimm away.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime exclaimed. She slams the tip of her staff to the ground, six golden-yellow elongated rhombuses forms from the point before detaching and starts attacking the Baby Nevermores. Orihime willed the projectiles to attack the Grimm at any angle. After they were finished off, the projectiles fade away. "Tatsuki-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

Rukia glances inside the entrance way. "It looks like we can get through. Look out for any Grimm though."

Tatsuki and Orihime nods in agreement.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The underground ceiling collapses near the end of the stairway in the west entrance, Keigo screaming all the way. He laid there motionless, contemplating on his life choices.

"Someone was eager." Mizuiro commented when he and Renji came down the stairs. A muffled 'fuck you' came from Keigo.

Renji looks around the mouth of the cavern. It was empty, save for some Dust crystals and the planks of wood used to keep the place from caving in. The three make their way through until they've reached the entrance to the main hub. Once they did, Renji caught a glimpse of White Fang soldiers and grabs Keigo and Mizuiro back into the tunnel before they were seen.

"I'm telling you, I heard something a while ago." a dog Faunus with ears said.

"It was probably a Grimm."

"I don't think Grimm screams like a girl." Keigo narrowed his eyes at that.

"Looks like the schematics were right." Renji said.

"So, what now?" Keigo asked. Mizuiro had an idea.

The five WF men stood in guard, looking around for anything odd. One spots a small cube-like machine crawling with four, spiderlike appendages. The soldier stare at the item curiously. The other four saw it too and turned their attention to it. The cube soon stopped and retracted its legs inside of itself.

"What is that?"

"Don't know."

When nothing happened, one of them aimed his gun at it but was stopped by another. "Wait, don't shoot it. We don't know what it could do."

"Look at it. It's just sitting there. For all we know, it's recording everything or sending a signal." He shoots the cube, destroying it. At the same time, a bright flash of light illuminated, blinding them. Renji uses the opportunity to knock the Faunus men unconscious.

After the workout, Renji cracks his knuckles. "These guys were pushovers. Their Aura wasn't even properly awakened."

"That explains why they didn't seem to sense our presence." Mizuiro said.

"Man, even _I_ could do better." Keigo commented. "That's just pitiful."

They walk past a crate with a hexagonal insignia on it.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Ichigo, Uryū, and Qrow found themselves in what looks to be a bazaar of sorts. Stands and ripped cloth strewn about.

"It's hard to imagine that it used to be alive with people around here." Lirin said. "Are there other places like this outside of the Kingdoms?" she asked Uryū.

He adjusts his glasses. "Unfortunately, yes. Settlements that lacked the natural borders or stable protection to keep Grimm away often falls rather quickly. And just as quickly, a new settlement is built over the old one and the cycle continues on and on…"

"So, does that mean Mountain Glenn could be revived?"

"Due to its size, it would be highly improbable."

"Hmmm…" Lirin hummed.

"I've been meaning to ask you two something." Qrow said as they walked.

"Okay?" Ichigo said.

"How are Ruby and Yang doing?" the older man asked.

"Why ask that? I thought they spoke with you." Ichigo said.

"Well, yeah. But, I wanna hear it from their 'mentor'." Ichigo glanced Uryū nervously, unsure if he should tell the uncle of Yang and Ruby what his nieces were up to yesterday. Qrow chuckled. "Let me guess: They went over their heads and made a mess."

Ichigo and Uryū look at eachother. "…Uh…"

"I've heard about it over the news." Qrow said. "The stray rose petals were a dead giveaway."

"…You could say that." Uryū said.

"It's not the first time they did something like that." Qrow said. "When Ruby was very young, Yang took her out to go find Yang's mom, my sister. A bunch of Beowulves would've made them Grimm chow if yours truly hadn't followed them. Then, there was a time the girls made our dog high as hell from a mushroom." At the surprised looks of Ichigo and Uryū, Qrow said, "Don't ask how they got their hands on one and don't worry, the dog is fine."

"I think I get what you are trying to tell me, but what they and their team did yesterday could have disastrous." Ichigo said.

"I know. Believe me, Tai and I had our own fair share of scolding them whenever they did something wrong." Qrow said. "At the end of the day, they're still good girls."

"…Yeah." Ichigo said. Uryū doesn't say anything, but he pushes up his glasses.

"Tai and I… We've lost a lot and we're scared of losing any more people." That struck a chord with Ichigo. He had grown very close to Ruby and her team. So close that he fears their safety. Uryū too. He had just reunited with Weiss and he didn't want to lose her. "Like how we lost Summer… as well as losing Masaki and Kanae."

"You… knew our mothers?" Ichigo asked.

"My team was a year lower, but yeah." Qrow said. "Masaki and Summer were like two peas in a pod. And Kanae, well—" He sudden jumped back on one foot as he hissed in pain.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked. Qrow held his hurt leg.

"Yeah…" Qrow said. He pulls up his pant leg to see his skin burned. "The hell I just stepped in?"

Uryū inspects the ground and notices a small puddle of a strange green substance. He also notices a trail of the same liquid leading into a building. He follows the trail, being mindful not to step on the substance. Inside the dilapidated building, Uryū finds a steel drum leaking the liquid. Judging from the level of oxidation, it was a decade old.

"Did you find anything, Ishida?" Ichigo asked as he and Qrow entered the building.

"I think so." Uryū said. "It looks like some type of toxic waste." He turns to Qrow. "How are you feeling?"

"A little singed, but alright."

"If you feel anything wrong, anything at all, please inform me." Uryū said before going back to inspect the drum.

Qrow chuckled to himself. "Sounds like something Ryū would say." He muttered, low enough that the younger two can't hear.

Kon notices something on the drum. "Hey, what's that?"

"He's right. There's something there." Lirin said.

Uryū looks too, noticing something obscured by a layer of dust. He wipes it away, revealing a hexagonal symbol. He gasped. "That's…" Qrow sees it too.

"Merlot Industries?"

"Why would Merlot Industries have something like this?"

"What's that?" Ichigo asked. When Uryū stares at him pointy, Ichigo says, "I came to Beacon to kick Grimm ass, not learn about some company."

Uryū rolls his eyes. "It was a research and development corporation that did research on artificial intelligence and genetics. But, what sort of research results in toxic waste…?" Uryū wondered. Not only that, why was the drum still in relatively good condition? Didn't Merlot Industries fall along with Mountain Glenn over 20 years ago? Is it being used by the White Fang…?

_*Ba-dump*_

Ichigo felt a surge of negativity coming from the other side of the building. He cautiously made his way over to door, carefully pushes it opened by an inch. There he sees a train, the White Fang and one Roman Torchwick. Bingo. Before he could tell Qrow and Uryū his finding, he heard something collapsed.

"Uryū!" he heard Lirin called.

"Hey! You okay?" he heard Qrow asked. Ichigo whips around to see Uryū fallen on his side.

"Ishida!" Ichigo exclaimed, rushing to his partner. Thankfully, the slimmer male didn't fall into the green liquid. Ichigo carefully lifts him up by his arms and pulls him away from the barrel. "Hey, Ishida, what happened?" The dazed Quincy struggled to clear his head.

"I…I don't know…" he muttered.

Qrow glances at the substance. "Is it emitting fumes that only effects Quincys?"

"I'd rather not find out." Ichigo said. Uryū gingerly gets up to his feet. "You sure you don't want to rest?" Ichigo asked. The Quincy opened his mouth to answer before his eyes trailed to the partial opened door.

"The door!" He exclaimed. Before they could move, WF soldiers burst through the door, ready to fire. Qrow was quicker and uses Harbinger to shoot at them. While not fatal shots, the WF soldier went sprawling to the ground. Seeing the opportunity, the three men run through the door.

"Lirin, go find the others!" Ichigo told her and she takes off.

More WF mooks came to attack, but the combined efforts of Ichigo, Uryū, and Qrow proved to be greater. Ichigo, using the back of Zangetsu, sends WF mooks flying through sheer strength. Uryū sees several enemy soldiers running towards him. Instead of using his bow, the Quincy takes out three small, silver tubes and throughs them at the enemies' feet. They glowed slightly before ice grew out, trapping them. Qrow showed why he's a veteran. His moves were like a combination of both Ichigo and Uryū, hard and forceful but planned and precise.

Hearing the commotion, Roman angrily exits a tent he was in. "Perry! What is all that commotion?!" He sees the intruders. "Oh, brilliant." He muttered.

"It'll be best if you come quietly, Roman Torchwick." Uryū advised, aiming an arrow.

Roman wasn't faltering as he casually clapped his hands. "Top notch acting there, Quincy boy. Now go run along to your tree friends, maybe have a cup of tea with a squirrel or something." Uryū was dangerously close of releasing his arrow at the man's throat for the insulting comment.

"At ease, Ishida." Ichigo said. He sees Lirin in the air flying back to them.

"Intruders!" a distant White Fang member shouted.

"I can see that!" Roman said, gesturing to Ichigo, Uryū, and Qrow.

"No. There is more!"

"Oh, for…" Roman grumbled as he rubbed his temples. He was starting to get really irritated. "Start the train, now!"

"But, it's much too early!" a WF member with glasses, Perry, objected. Roman's response to the comment was to shove his cane at the Faunus' throat.

"If this plan derails, so will your head." Roman threatened. "Do I make myself clear?"

"…Y-Yes, sir." Perry wheezed. Roman releases him and hops into the train as it starts up.

"Like hell you'll get away!" Ichigo shouted. He tries to get on the train but was blocked by the WF. Thankfully, a shot of lightning courtesy of Rukia came through and froze the Faunus in place, allowing Ichigo, Uryū, Qrow, and the rest of the Beacon group to hop on the train.

They make their way to top as the train picked up some speed. "We need to find a way in!" Qrow said. Keigo spots a hatch nearby and made his way over to open. When he did, he broke into a nervous sweat.

"Uh…guys?"

Ichigo and Tatsuki runs over to see what Keigo found. It was a bomb. "Oh, crap." Ichigo muttered. They heard something unlatching. They look over to see the connector tethering the train railcars together are coming undone. "Everyone! Get to the next railcar!" he bellowed. No one wasted anytime as they leaped over the gap just as the railcar was freed and left behind.

About a minute later, the railcar exploded. The result was a sizable hole, letting Creeps into the tunnel. "They're using explosives and the tunnel to lead the Grimm into the city!" Rukia exclaimed.

"Mizuiro, Ishida, get to the further most bomb first to deactivate. You'll just waste time here and there will be less damage!" Ichigo ordered. Those two are their best options this, with Mizuiro's Weak Point Semblance and Uryū's demolition knowledge. The slighter men dash forward, only to be stopped by WF forces.

"Where do you pretty boys think you're going?" a woman taunted, aiming her gun at them. A wire coiled around the barrel and pulled the gun out of the Faunus' hands. Three golden-yellow shields flew towards the rest of entourage.

"We got your back!" Keigo said.

"Let's hurry!" Orihime shouted.

After that, Mizuiro and Uryū continued their run, Keigo and Orihime following. "I'll go find Torchwick." Qrow said as he too sprints off.

"Okay, be careful!" Ichigo said. He hears another of the latches unhook. "Damn it! Everyone move!" They all make it in time as the loose railcar came undone. Just like the one from before, this one exploded as well. More Grimm started to pop out, now with Beowulves and even a King Taijitu. Seeing this, Ichigo and Renji their ranged weapons to shoot at the Grimm. Unfortunately, there was too many. "This isn't good!"

Qrow makes his through railcar after railcar, beating up WF soldiers on his way, before reaching the cab, where Roman and Perry is. Roman heard the man barging in. "Great, look what the cat dragged in. A rather annoying bird."

"I'm not exactly a big fan of you either." Qrow countered. After that, the two exchanges gunfire.

Meanwhile, Uryū and Mizuiro got work on their second bomb. "Alright, it looks like you can snip the second top wire now." Mizuiro said to Uryū. The Quincy cuts the wire, resulting in the bomb's defusal. "On to the next one." They emerge from the hatch.

"Two down, and one more to go." Keigo said. They move on to the last one, but Uryū paused to look back, towards the direction the train is going. "Hey, Uryū. We don't have much time!"

"Come on, Ishida-kun!" Orihime said.

"Coming!"

More Grimm kept appearing despite Ichigo and Renji's efforts. "This getting us nowhere!" Ichigo said as he shoots at the Grimm.

"I've got an idea! Hey, Rukia!" Renji shouted. "Let's do Crimson Bloom!"

"Crimson what?" Ichigo asked.

"I saw Ruby doing the whole Team Attack thing yesterday! It looked interesting!" Renji answered.

"Ready, Renji?" Rukia said as she stood by Renji's side.

"You bet I am." Renji said. He has his shield toward the Grimm and Rukia has her palm in front. At the same time, a red glow starts to gather from the mouth of the shield's skull as a blue electrical light emanated from the rings on Rukia's middle and ring fingers, connected to the Kuchiki Bracers.

"**Crimson Bloom**!" they called out together. A light red beam shoots out of Hihio and a streak of lightning shoots out with the beam, swirling around the laser, and hits the Grimm, obliterating them into nothingness.

Back in the cab, Qrow and Roman continued their fight. "Your persistence reminds me of a certain little red."

"…Is that so?"

The sound from Renji and Rukia's Team Attack winds up garnering the attention of Roman. "What in the…" Qrow takes advantage of the distraction and charges at the career criminal. Roman tries to shoot him with Melodic Cudgel but he misses and is knocked out by a hard punch from Qrow. Perry tried to get away but was knocked unconscious by the veteran Huntsman.

"Now, to stop the train." Qrow said. He goes to the lever and pulls it down to stop the train.

The train starts to screech as the brakes willed the wheels to stop. "Sounds like Qrow was able to get Roman." Tatsuki said, holding a thoroughly beaten WF member by the collar.

Ichigo walks over to Mizuiro and Uryū. "You guys got all the remaining bombs?"

"Yes." Uryū said. "Thankfully, we've arrived at good time. A week later or so, there probably would have been more."

"We've got a problem!" Lirin exclaimed, flying to them.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"The end of the tunnel is almost seven miles away now and train isn't slowing down fast enough!"

"The resulting impact could cause the engine to explode, resulting in a hole to the city to cave in, allowing anymore Grimm left to have access to the city." Uryū said.

"How can we slow the train down further?" Ichigo asked, almost to himself.

_ **Why not use your power?** _

Ichigo gasped. He clenched his fists.

_ **Why are you hesitating? It is your power after all** _ _._

_After the stunt you pulled back at Pastoria? Forget it!_ Ichigo thought.

_ **So, you want a city devastated? Like what happened to Mt. Glenn? To Sakura Village?** _

Ichigo's eyes widened.

_ **You want those girls under your wing to suffer such a loss?** _

Ichigo feels the familiar surge of his Semblance activating. "…No."

"Kurosaki?" Uryū inquired, noticing Ichigo starting his Semblance. Up until now, Ichigo has been scarcely using his 15-Minute Power Up, which was suspicious enough on Uryū's part. Suddenly, Ichigo sprints into a run. "Kurosaki!"

"H-Hey! Ichigo!" Keigo shouted running after him.

"What's he doing?" Qrow asked as he emerged on the roof. Roman, Perry, and the remainders of the WF are in the cab tied up.

Ichigo leaps from the cab and dashes forward as far as he could. "Ichigo, what the fuck are you doing?!" Kiego asked. He sees Ichigo holding his hands and arms forward. Realizing what Ichigo is planning, the skater runs back to the others. "Brace yourselves!"

As the train drew closer, Ichigo grimaced as he prepared himself. The locomotive hits him hard despite its decelerated speed. Ichigo struggled to keep himself upright and run over, his feet drag through the rail track, breaking the wood into splinters. Some stuck into Ichigo's legs, but he ignored it.

"…Come on…Slow down…" He dared to look back, seeing the end of the line is getting close. "…Slow the fuck down, goddammit!" His brown eyes flashed a golden color.

As if answering his called, the train finally slowed to stop with Ichigo's body being a half inch away from the dead end wall. The train hissed out some steam and Ichigo sighs. He shimmies himself from the tight spot. "Is everyone okay up there?"

"…We're good!" Renji responded after a while.

Ichigo smiled in relief. _It's a good thing I was able to use my Semblance again without any interference_, Ichigo thought.

_ **Who says it was your Semblance?** _

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. "Wh-What?" He looks at his hands. He notices some scratches on his palms. Shouldn't his Aura have prevented this damage?

Studying him from on top of the train was Uryū.


	9. Chapter 08: Make it Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo while RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth

"Are you all okay?" Pyrrha asked team RWBY. She, Jaune, and the team is outside at their usual spot, the water lily pond.

"…Peachy…" Yang said, not in her usual upbeat self.

Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged glances. "Um, does it have anything to do with this morning?" Jaune asked.

"…You heard all that?" Ruby asked.

"It was hard not to." Pyrrha said.

Ruby didn't really want to talk about it. Over seven hours had passed since the scolding, but she still felt awful. "…Ichigo was so mad."

"They were _all_ mad at us." Weiss bemoaned, hiding her face in her hands. She had never seen Uryū so disappointed.

"And he hasn't answered any of my text messages."

Jaune visibly grimaced. "I wonder if Tatsuki heard about it." He had seen how Tatsuki handle Keigo when he did something completely idiotic. Not only that, he had _just_ got out of his punishment for forging his transcripts and the issues with CRDL.

"I don't think so." Blake said. "You guys weren't anywhere near the fight with Roman."

"By the way, how's Ren doing?" Weiss asked.

"He's doing okay." Pyrrha answered. "Nurse Bliss said that he'll be up and ready to leave the nurse's office by tomorrow morning. Thanks to his Aura, his ribs are healing finely."

"Nora hadn't left his side since." Jaune said. "You'd think that they are, as Nora would put it, 'together-together'."

Ruby's eyebrows farrowed. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. Don't be." Pyrrha said. "It was our choice. We wanted to help."

"Yeah, it's what friends do." Jaune said.

A teeny smile of gratefulness formed on Ruby's face.

"Oh! It's you!" Emerald said as she walked over to the group. Cinder, Mercury, and Alvis followed behind.

"Oh, hello! Your name is Emerald, right?" Ruby asked.

"Yep!" Emerald said. She then motions to Cinder and the two males. "And this is my team, CEAM (Steam)."

"'Sup, the name's Mercury Black."

"Alvis Igneus," the redhead Quincy said with an easygoing smile.

"And I am Cinder Fall. It's a pleasure to meet you." Cinder said smoothly. "I've been wanting to meet the freshman team that Ichigo Kurosaki has become in charge of for this trial program."

"You know Ichigo?" Yang asked.

"Who doesn't?" Mercury chuckled.

"We're in the same year as Ichigo and his team." Cinder said. Ruby stared at the woman curiously. There's something…unique about her Aura. But what is it?

Emerald looked as though she was about to say something until Rangiku hugs her and Cinder from behind. "There you are, Emy, Cindy!"

"H-Hey…" mint-haired girl greeted. She tried to keep her friendly façade, but it could be hard to maintain occasionally. Even Cinder didn't seem pleased.

"I've been looking everywhere for you two." The buxom woman pouted. "I was thinking that the three of us could go get a mani-pedi. Maybe I can get Nel to come with us."

Emerald and Cinder pulled themselves from her grip, the former quickly put on her nice face. "Um, thank you so much, Rangiku. But, we'll have to decline."

"What? Why?"

"…We've already had our nails done." Cinder said, showing her cuticles.

"Oh, phooey…" Rangiku pouted.

"…Well, we need to get going." Emerald said.

"Okay, I hope to see you guys again!" Ruby said.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we will." Cinder said. After that, CEAM leaves.

Rangiku suddenly beamed. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you kids come with me to town?"

"Uh, I don't know. I'm not really into things like that." Ruby declined. "…And…" She looks at her disheartened teammates. "…We're…trying to think of a way to make things right for Ichigo, Uryū, Renji, and Rukia."

"Oh?"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"I don't get why we have to be all buddy-buddy with them." Mercury said.

"If Cinder says that we need to be friends with them, then we have to." Emerald said, through gritted teeth.

"If Cinder told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?" Mercury asked. Emerald glares at him.

"Quiet." Cinder ordered. The pair immediately stopped. Alvis nearly rolled his eyes. "Making positive friendships with these students would help make our job a lot easier. They'll soon learn what happens you put your utmost trust in someone who's goal is behind a velvet curtain." Her golden gaze shifts to Beacon Tower.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"…And that's about it…" Ruby ended after telling Rangiku happened. The older woman had a rare serious face as she listened to Ruby's story. The news feed provided for background noises as team RWBY and Rangiku sat outside at a table where the festival is taking place. There are several Atlesian soldier patrolling the area.

After a few seconds of thinking, Rangiku said, "…Well, I have to say you girls are committed. But, I'm going to have to agree with Ichigo on this."

"Why? We were helping!" Yang said.

"Have you thought about the consequences of your actions?" Rangiku asked. She looks at Yang. "How would people think when they see an underage Beacon student going to a nightclub, by one year or otherwise?" The question made Yang back off. Rangiku then looks at Blake. "And was it wise for you, a prominent former White Fang member and daughter of the previous chief, to show up at an important White Fang faction meeting where you could be easily recognized?"

"…I was wearing a disguise," was Blake's excuse.

"I'm pretty sure Roman Torchwick can recognize a pair of Faunus, one being a blonde monkey Faunus with a tail and the other a catgirl with ears and black hair." Blake felt stupid when Rangiku pointed that out. Of course, if Roman had any sense, he'd be suspicious of a pair with their characteristics after getting in his way a few weeks back. Not only that, Blake made no effort in hiding her Gambol Shroud, unlike Sun who kept his gunchucks in his shirt, _someone_ could have recognized her…Now that she was thinking back on it, Sun didn't change his clothes either…

Renji, on the other hand, made sure to keep his identity a secret, even trying to cover his tattoos as much as possible. How Blake really knew it was him was because of his widow's peak hairline, eyebrows, and forehead tattoos. He didn't even bring his weapons to the meeting because he wasn't planning on being in a fight to begin with.

"I can sympathize with you girls wanting to help. That's a viable trait for becoming a Huntress. But, you'd need to learn when you need to backdown." Rangiku said. "Ichigo and his team learned the hard way from the Sakuya Massacre."

The mention of the incident hit Ruby. She had seen what the incident did to Ichigo and it was heartbreaking. Is it possible that Ichigo was afraid that she and her team would have the same experience?

/Breaking News: Long-time career criminal, Roman Torchwick, has been finally taken into custody./ Lisa Lavender announced.

"What?" Ruby asked. She turns to the news, as did her team, Rangiku, and various other festival goers appearing.

/Two student teams from Vale's Beacon Academy with the aid of a veteran Huntsman were able to catch the fugitive, as well as numerous White Fang members, earlier this afternoon./ Lisa continued, showing a clip. /Allegedly, Torchwick and the WF Faunus have attempted to lead Grimm into the city of Vale from the tunnel connected to the now defunct city of Mountain Glenn. Thanks to these young Huntsmen-in-training, we were saved from a potential disaster./

Weiss gasped. "It's Ichigo and his team!"

"And team TAIM!" Blake added.

"And Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang exclaimed.

The other people start to talk among themselves, wondering what would happen next now that Roman has been finally arrested.

Meanwhile, Cinder glares at the news feed showing at her dorm. Her eyes nearly glowed as she tries to keep her…powers in check from her anger.

Emerald comes running in. "Cinder! Did you see?" She asked. Cinder shot her a glare that made Emerald flinch. The thief looks at the screen. "…Oh."

Cinder gets up from the couch. "How could this have happened?" she asked to herself as she paced.

"It's very possible that Tukson may have leaked some information before he was axed off." Alvis said from his spot, leaning on the wall.

"What?" Emerald asked. Cinder struts into the kitchen and takes a knife out of a drawer. She focuses her Semblance, Scorching Caress, on the metal blade, causing it to glow a bright orange from the heat.

_I knew Roman should have done it sooner_, Cinder thought. She stops the heat transfer and cools the knife under the running faucet. Steam sizzles from the hot steel and cold water. "Alvis." She started. "Make contact with the Wandenreich."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Congratulations. You finally caught me." Roman deadpanned as he is lead to an airship. "Hey, watch the hat."

"That was…surprisingly easy." Keigo commented. Qrow thought so too. He also thought about the arrival of several Atlesian military ships. Damn that Ironwood. What is that man thinking?

"Yeah… I'm gonna get going." He said.

"Got another mission to go to?" Tatsuki asked.

"More of a postponed one." Qrow said. "I was in the middle of a recon of sorts. I just happened to be the closest Huntsman available. Catch ya on the flip side." He turns to leave but halts. "Oh, before I forget." He looks at Ichigo. "Remember what I said earlier. Yeah, they messed up. But they mean well. Give them another chance. I'm sure at this point, they've learned their lesson." Ichigo thinks to himself for a moment. Qrow wasn't wrong. The girls probably didn't want anything calamitous to happen to Vale.

_ **Like he said, they meant well.** _

Ichigo rose a brow. _Since when are you attentive?_

The voice chuckled._**It depends on you**__._

"And by the way," Qrow leans towards Ichigo's ear, "just because Roman is nabbed, doesn't mean the fights over. Keep that in mind." With a pat on Ichigo's shoulder, Qrow leaves. Ichigo eyed the man.

What did he mean by that?

Ichigo shook his head. He can feel another headache coming on. When he gets back, he'll give the girls an apology for giving them the silent treatment. Still, he needs to talk to Yang about attacking, shotgun gauntlets a blazing, before thinking what Roman's petite partner was capable of.

Wait.

Roman's accomplice! Where is she?! He turns to his team and TAIM. "Did anyone see a small chick, like as small as Rukia, and kind of makes you think of Neapolitan ice cream?"

"Uhhh…no?" Tatsuki said, confused.

"You mean this 'Neo'?" Uryū asked.

"Neo… like Neapolitan. What, is her last name Politan?" Keigo asked.

"How the hell should I know? It wasn't like I was going to ask her out for tea." Ichigo said.

_ **Chill out, King.** _

"Ichigo, calm down. No, we didn't see anyone like her." Rukia said.

"Do you know if she has a hiding ability?" Mizuiro asked.

"Hmm. She did create a visual illusion of herself and Roman before Ms. Xiao Long shattered it as though it was made of glass." Uryū said.

"Could it be possible that she's still in the city somewhere?" Orihime asked.

Maybe. If she's able to create a convincing image of herself and Roman, who's to say she can easily disguise herself… Looks like Yang's brash behavior became beneficial.

Ichigo goes to Byakuya, who was overseeing Roman's and WF member's transfer. "Hey, Byakuya!"

"…Yes, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"You do realize that you can just call me Ichigo, right?" Ichigo asked.

"I would rather not." This has been a thing since the two met. Ichigo refused to call him Colonel Kuchiki and Byakuya's responds with calling the orangette by his full name.

"Of course. Anyways, there's a good chance that Roman's partner is still on the prowl." Ichigo told him.

Byakuya takes out a Scroll tablet. "Do you recall their appearance?" As Ichigo relayed him the information, the Atlesian colonel eyes Ichigo intently.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Are you sure you are not this woman in disguise?"

Ichigo blinks. "I'm sure. Why?"

"Because you seem to be able to remember the girl's appearance rather well."

"Shut up."

"You are the real Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya said, ever stoic. After he was done with the tablet, he said, "Thank you for the information. We will keep an eye out for her in case she might try to free Roman Torchwick."

"Thanks." Ichigo said through gritted teeth, still miffed at Byakuya's attempt at being funny, despite the older man didn't crack a smile, keeping his face stern.

"Would you and your friends care for a ride back with us?"

"Sure. Why not?"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Well, at least Roman's out of the picture. For now, anyway." Yang said.

"And team IURR definitely didn't need our 'help'." Ruby regretted.

"I'm sure you girls can help them again one day." Rangiku said, back in her peppy mood, eating a kebab. "But for now, be first years. Be kids. You're not always gonna have moments like this."

What Rangiku said reminded Ruby what Ozpin said on the first day of second semester after their epic foodfight:

_But for right now, they are children. So, we should let them play the part. After all, it isn't a role that lasts forever._

Ruby had no doubt that as the school years pass, she and her team would face many things. Perhaps, they may be unable to attend the next Vytal Festival due to missions or hangout with their friends.

"Salutations, Ruby!"

"Oh, hey, Penny!" Ruby greeted back. She noticed someone hiding shyly behind her android friend. It was a young man slightly shorter than Penny and has fair skin, freckles like Penny, short pale blonde hair and bright purple eyes. "Who's this?" she asked nicely.

Penny inclines her head, motioning the blonde boy to speak. The young man smiles at them, showing slight bucked teeth, and waves a little. "Hello, my name is Wonder Margela."

"Wonder here is a member of my team, PWNC (Pence)." Penny introduced, her hands gently on the boy's shoulders.

"Hello, Wonder. My name is Ruby Rose." Ruby greeted.

"You smell like roses." Wonder said.

"Oh, well, thank you." Ruby said, charmed at the boy's innocent comment. "You are too sweet."

"He's more like a little kid than a teenager." Yang observed. "I don't want to be rude, but is he a little…you know…"

"Oh. He is on the lighter end of the spectrum, but he's perfectly capable. Wonder is a natural at fighting Grimm. Isn't that right?" Penny asked Wonder.

He nodded. "Grimm are the bad guys."

"That's right. And we are the good guys." Penny said. "And, as Ruby said it, he's a sweetheart. Really smart too. So, what are you all up to?"

"Uhhh…" Ruby wasn't sure if she wants to tell Penny happened between them and IURR. Luckily, Rangiku came forward and circles her arms loosely around Ruby's shoulders.

"I thought I could take these girls out for some fun at the festival." The older woman said.

"I see. Well, I don't want to keep you guys from having fun, so—Oh, what is it, Wonder?" Penny asked when the male tugged her sleeve a little. He points at a stand. "Oh, do you want to play ring toss?"

"Uh-huh." Wonder said.

"Okay, we'll go play ring toss. After that, we'll go get something to eat." Penny said to him. "I'll see you again, Ruby."

"Same to you, Penny. And I'll be happy to see you again too, Wonder." Ruby said. Wonder shyly hides behind Penny.

She giggled a little. "Bye."

"Bye, Ruby." Wonder said.

Once they were far enough away, Yang said, "I take back what I said about Penny being weird." Her comment earned a slap on the arm by Weiss.

"Yang, that's rude!" She scolded.

"There's many different types of Huntsmen out there. You'll see even more once you graduate." Rangiku said. "So, what do you girls want to do first?"

"Ooh, let's do the flying darts. Blake here can go all ninja cat girl on it." Yang said.

Blake smiles slightly. "Very funny. I think I'll pass though."

"Teenage Faunus Ninja Catgirl~" Yang sang.

"Oh, no." Blake said as she hides her face.

"Teenage Faunus Ninja Catgirl~" Rangiku chimed in.

Blake can't control her grin. "Really?"

"Teenage Faunus Ninja Catgirl~" Both Yang and Rangiku continued in unison. "Emo in a black bow! KITTY POWER!"

"Stop it!" Blake exclaimed with a giggle, chasing the more buxom women with her pocketbook as they laughed.

Weiss shook her head, like a parent watching their tomfoolery kids. She notices her partner looking down. "Ruby, is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, why?"

"Are you still upset about this morning?"

"I…yes."

Weiss sighs a little. "We may have been a little over our heads yesterday. Perhaps we should have spoken with them about it first."

"…Yeah."

"But, we live and we learn. When they return, we should be professional and let them know that we have realized our mistake."

Ruby's frown slowly turned a smile. "Looks like the Ice Queen's heart has melted."

Weiss playfully scoffs before hitting Ruby's upper arm. Ruby giggled along before feeling the pain blossoming in her arm.

For an heiress, Weiss hits hard.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guardians of Remnant ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Come along, Bazz-B." Jugram said as he walks over to his private airship. His pale blonde hair reach to his mid-back, his eyes are a shade of dark blue and has long, blonde eyelashes. He wears a white hooded trench coat over a sea green, long-sleeved shirt, white trousers and white shoes. "We need to get going."

The Quincy man with a red mohawk let out a chuckle. "I can't wait to see his face when he sees us."

"Keep your excitement to a minimum, for now." Jugram said stoically. "We have a job to do."

"Yeah, yeah."


End file.
